Nonlinear Right-Hand Polarized Wave in Plasma in the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Region

Abstract

The propagation of a nonlinear right-hand polarized wave along an external magnetic field in subcritical plasma in the electron cyclotron resonance region is studied using numerical simulations. It is shown that a small-amplitude plasma wave excited in low-density plasma is unstable against modulation instability with a modulation period equal to the wavelength of the excited wave. The modulation amplitude in this case increases with decreasing detuning from the resonance frequency. The simulations have shown that, for large-amplitude waves of the laser frequency range propagating in plasma in a superstrong magnetic field, the maximum amplitude of the excited longitudinal electric field increases with the increasing external magnetic field and can reach 30% of the initial amplitude of the electric field in the laser wave. In this case, the energy of plasma electrons begins to substantially increase already at magnetic fields significantly lower than the resonance value. The laser energy transferred to plasma electrons in a strong external magnetic field is found to increase severalfold compared to that in isotropic plasma. It is shown that this mechanism of laser radiation absorption depends only slightly on the electron temperature.