Nonlinear effects and the transformation of wave energy in an inhomogeneous plasma

Abstract

This paper discusses the problem: under what conditions does the quasilinear transformation of waves in plasma with an inhomogeneous beam remain a dominant effect if the nonlinear interaction of waves is respected. It is shown that in the region of densitiesω p 2 ω B 2 the nonlinear interaction between the high-frequency and the newly excited waves can already affect the initial stage of the process and can result in the establishment of the Rayleigh-Jeans distribution for the two groups of waves. If, on the other hand, the low-frequency waves grow first with a quasilinear increment, the nonlinear transformation of energy inside a group of low-frequency waves is again apt to affect substantially their final amplitude and thus also the total amount of energy that can be transformed into those waves. The conditions under which a particular nonlinear effect predominates are derived for various characteristic values of the density of a cold plasma.