Higher-order Kerr effect in ultrashort laser pulse propagation and laser filamentation

We discuss the contribution of the higher-order Kerr effect (HOKE) to the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in several contexts. We show that their consideration is necessary to adequately reproduce experimental data about harmonics generation, propagation in hollow-core fibers, and laser filamentation. In the latter case, our results show that the HOKE play a key role for short pluses and/or long wavelengths, while the plasma contributes more for long pulses and/or short wavelengths.