Parametric decay of an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in relativistic plasma

Parametric instability of an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in plasma preheated to a relativistic temperature is considered. A set of self-similar nonlinear differential equations taking into account the electron “thermal” mass is derived and investigated. Small perturbations of the parameters o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plasma physics reports 2015-03, Vol.41 (3), p.262-268
Main Authors: Dorofeenko, V. G., Krasovitskiy, V. B., Turikov, V. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Atomic
COLD PLASMA
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DECAY INSTABILITY
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISPERSION RELATIONS
DISTURBANCES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRONS
Molecular
Nonlinear Phenomena
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
Optical and Plasma Physics
PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES
PHASE VELOCITY
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
PLASMA HEATING
RELATIVISTIC PLASMA
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Summary:Parametric instability of an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in plasma preheated to a relativistic temperature is considered. A set of self-similar nonlinear differential equations taking into account the electron “thermal” mass is derived and investigated. Small perturbations of the parameters of the heated plasma are analyzed in the linear approximation by using the dispersion relation determining the phase velocities of the fast and slow extraordinary waves. In contrast to cold plasma, the evanescence zone in the frequency range above the electron upper hybrid frequency vanishes and the asymptotes of both branches converge. Theoretical analysis of the set of nonlinear equations shows that the growth rate of decay instability increases with increasing initial temperature of plasma electrons. This result is qualitatively confirmed by numerical simulations of plasma heating by a laser pulse injected from vacuum.
ISSN:1063-780X
1562-6938
DOI:10.1134/S1063780X15030022