Nonlinear regimes of Farley-Buneman instability

Abstract

The dynamic suppression of the instability of a quasi-monochromatic wave by nonlinear wave-wave interaction is considered. It is shown that, near the threshold of linear instability, the process of decay into two strongly damped waves leads to the onset of a quasi-periodic or a stochastic nonlinear stabilization regime involving a small number of modes. A case study is made of the Farley-Buneman instability in an isothermal magnetized current-carrying plasma in which particle collisions play an important role. Typical characteristic features of different stabilization regimes are analyzed as functions of current and other plasma parameters.