Stimulated Brillouin backscattering and ion acoustic wave secondary instability

Abstract

A study of the secondary instability of a finite-amplitude ion acoustic wave (IAW) affecting the saturation of stimulated Brillouin backscattering (SBS) of laser light in a plasma is presented. The secondary instability of the SBS IAW provides a nonlinear dissipation mechanism for the SBS IAW and can reduce the SBS reflectivity. To better understand the physics of the secondary instability and SBS, particle-in-cell kinetic simulations, analysis of dispersion relations, and integration of coupled mode equations have been undertaken and compared. Among the effects examined are the influences on the secondary instability of the frequency of the primary IAW, the second-harmonic IAW, and ion trapping in the primary SBS IAW which affects Landau damping and the IAW frequency.