Langmuir field structures favored in wave collapse

Abstract

Study of Langmuir collapse thresholds shows that they have little polarization dependence and that moving packets have the lowest thresholds in the undamped case. However, incorporation of damping into the density response inhibits collapse of packets moving at more than a small fraction of the sound speed. Investigation of energy transfer to packets localized in density wells—the nucleation process—shows that at most a few trapped states can exist and that energy transfer is most effective when there is a single barely-trapped state. Coupled with an argument that closely packed wave packets have lower collapse thresholds, this argument yields an estimate of the number density of localized nucleating states in a turbulent plasma. It also leads to a simple and direct semiquantitative estimate of the collapse threshold. All these results are in accord with previous numerical simulations incorporating ion-sound damping, which show a preponderance of slow-moving or stationary packets with little or no intrinsic polarization dependence of thresholds. Likewise, the number densities obtained are in good agreement with simulation values, and the simple estimate of the threshold is semiquantitatively correct. The extent of the agreement supports the nucleation scenario with close-packed nucleation sites in the turbulent state.