It is shown that an electromagnetic wave interacting with a plasma is subject to instabilities leading to light filamentation. Nonlinear solutions for light filaments and light trapping are also investigated.

The analysis of plasma flow problems in magnetic fields is usually based on a hydromagnetic fluid model. In low-density collisionless plasmas, however, the limitations of the applicability of this method are not clearly understood. In this paper a simplified self-consistent field method is used, with particle motion considered in the guiding center approximation. In this case the high ``dielectric constant'' of the magneto-plasma plays the role of the infinite conductivity of the fluid model. Several experiments are analyzed on the basis of this model, and the limitations and shortcomings of the hydromagnetic treatment discussed.

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