One type of three-wave interaction of low-frequency waves in magnetoactive plasma of the solar atmosphere

Abstract

We study the process of occurrence of “quasi-mode” decay instability of kinetic Alfven waves (KAW) in the chromosphere of a solar active region before a flare, namely, in plasma of magnetic loops near their footpoints. The decay of a primary KAW into a kinetic ion-acoustic wave and a secondary KAW was considered as a specific type of three-wave interaction. Necessary conditions for the KAW decay instability occurrence were found for two semiempirical models of the solar atmosphere with the use of a modified expression for the growth rate of instability in the case of nonlinear interaction of low-frequency waves with an abnormally low excitation threshold. It was shown that the main criteria for the development of this instability significantly depend on the amplitude of external magnetic field in the region under study as well as on a model of the solar atmosphere.