Study of plasma–maser instability in an inhomogeneous plasma

Abstract

The plasma–maser, an interesting nonlinear process in plasmas, is an effective means of energy up-conversion in frequency from low-frequency turbulence to a high-frequency wave. A theoretical study is made of the amplification mechanism of an electrostatic Bernstein mode wave in presence of Langmuir wave turbulence in a magnetized inhomogeneous plasma on the basis of a plasma–maser interaction. It is shown that a test high-frequency electrostatic Bernstein mode wave is unstable in the presence of low-frequency Langmuir wave turbulence. The growth rate of a test high-frequency Bernstein mode wave is calculated with the involvement of a spatial density gradient parameter. A comparative study on the role of density gradient in the generation of the Bernstein mode on the basis of the plasma–maser effect is presented.