White-light parametric instabilities in plasmas

Parametric instabilities driven by partially coherent radiation in plasmas are described by a generalized statistical Wigner-Moyal set of equations, formally equivalent to the full wave equation, coupled to the plasma fluid equations. A generalized dispersion relation for stimulated Raman scattering driven by a partially coherent pump field is derived, revealing a growth rate dependence, with the coherence width sigma of the radiation field, scaling with 1/sigma for backscattering (three-wave process), and with 1/sigma1/2 for direct forward scattering (four-wave process). Our results demonstrate the possibility to control the growth rates of these instabilities by properly using broadband pump radiation fields.     

Two-stream instabilities in degenerate quantum plasmas

The quantum effects on the plasma two-stream instability are studied by the dielectric function approach. The analysis suggests that the instability condition in a degenerate dense plasma deviates from the classical theory when the electron drift velocity is comparable to the Fermi velocity. Specifically, for a high wave vector comparable to the Fermi wave vector, a degenerate quantum plasma has larger regime of instability than predicted by the classical theory. A regime is identified, where there are unstable plasma waves with frequency 1.5 times of a normal Langmuir wave.     

Resistive instabilities in current-carrying magnetized plasmas

The stability of ion electrostatic waves with propagation vector nearly normal to a static magnetic field in a collisional plasma carrying a field-aligned current is investigated in the cold plasma approximation.     

Few-cycle relativistic solitons in plasmas

A set of exact one-dimensional solutions to coupled nonlinear equations describing the propagation of a relativistic ultrashort circularly polarized laser pulse in a cold collisionless and bounded plasma where electrons have an initial velocity in the laser propagating direction is presented. The solutions investigated here are in the form of quickly moving envelop solitons at a propagation velocity comparable to the light speed. The features of solitons in both underdense and overdense plasmas with electrons having different given initial velocities in the laser propagating direction are described. It is found that the amplitude of solitons is larger and soliton width shorter in plasmas where electrons have a larger initial velocity. In overdense plasmas, soliton duration is shorter, the amplitude higher than that in underdense plasmas where electrons have the same initial velocity.     

Velocity gradient driven flute instabilities in plasmas

The effect of velocity gradient across the magnetic field on the low frequency flute modes is examined in detail, using the normal mode analysis. It is shown that some new type of instabilities driven primarily by the velocitygradient arise and these excited modes eventually attain the convective saturation. The onset of plasma turbulence due to these instabilities may possibly be one of the major contributors for anomalous heating process and enhanced plasma resistivity.     

KdV-type solitons in multicomponent relativistic plasmas

A reductive perturbation technique is used to derive modified Korteweg-deVries (KdV) equations with different degrees of isothermality in a plasma, in order to study the existence and behavior of ion-acoustic solitary wave propagation ingoing in a multicomponent relativistic plasma. The solutions of the KdV equations are obtained. It is found that the presence of multiple ions and electrons in the relativistic plasma causes a different behavior regarding the formation of solitons in plasmas.     

Large-amplitude electromagnetic waves in relativistic plasmas

The propagation of linearly polarized large-amplitude electromagnetic waves in relativistic plasmas is studied in the framework of the Akhiezer-Polovin-model. Different forms of the basic equations are reviewed and important solutions are presented for small and critical plasma densities. The well-known periodic solutions are generalized to quasiperiodic solutions taking account of additional electrostatic oscillations.     

Fundamental processes in relativistic laser plasmas

A review is given of processes fundamental for current relativistic regimes of laser matter interaction such as the generation and evolution of relativistic coherent nonlinear electromagnetic structures; generation of extremely high intensity electromagnetic waves and extremely high energy charged particle beams; novel regimes of electromagnetic wave interaction with matter and of the prospects for using laser accelerators for the high energy physics and for the laboratory relativistic astrophysics with relativistic laser plasmas.     

Statistical mechanics of relativistic plasmas

Based on the Klimontovich method of construction of a relativistic statistical mechanics the binary correlation function of a relativistic plasma is considered. Up to the order e⁴ for spatially homogeneous systems the relativistic binary correlation function can be expressed by the relativistic dielectric tensor, where higher-order correlation functions are neglected.In the case of thermodynamic equilibrium the relativistic dielectric tensor is calculated. The corresponding binary correlation function is determined up to the first relativistic order. The result is compared with those of Trubnikov/Kosachev (1968) and Krizan (1969).     

Low-frequency instabilities of electron-hole plasmas in crossed fields

Using local point-contact probes, we observed two types of low-frequency instabilities inn-InSb at 85 K if the samples were exposed to crossed fields. One is a local density instability with threshold frequencies off = 1 20 Mc, the other a more turbulent current instability. The threshold values ofU ₀ andB for the onset of these instabilities and the dependence of their amplitudes on the fields have been measured.If a rectangular semiconductor slab is placed in crossed fields, regions of high electric field strength at opposite edges of the contacts are caused by the distortion of the Hall field, giving rise to the generation of electron-hole plasmas by impact ionization. These plasmas are the sources of the observed instabilities. This is especially evident in the case of the local density instability, which originates at the anode high field corner. Several possible reasons for the development of the instabilities are discussed.     

Parametric instabilities in magnetized bi-ion and dusty plasmas

The excitation of low frequency modes of oscillations in a magnetized bi-ion or dusty plasma with parametric pumping of the magnetic field is analysed. The equation of motion governing the perturbed plasma is derived and parametrically excited transverse modes propagating along the magnetic field are found. With multiple ion species or charged dust present, a number of different circularly polarized modes can be excited. The stability of these modes is investigated as a function of the plasma parameters. The modulational instabilities of large amplitude normal modes, modified by the extra ion species or dust and propagating along the magnetic field, are also investigated Article presented at the International Conference on the Frontiers of Plasma Physics and Technology, 9–14 December 2002, Bangalore, India.     

Theory for explosive ideal magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in plasmas

Flux tubes confined in tokamaks are observed to erupt explosively in some plasma disruptions and edge localized modes. Similar eruptions occur in astrophysical plasmas, for example, in solar flares and magnetospheric substorms. A single unifying nonlinear evolution equation describing such behavior in both astrophysical and tokamak plasmas is derived. This theory predicts that flux tubes rise explosively, narrow, and twist to pass through overlying magnetic field lines without reconnection.     

Low-frequency relativistic electromagnetic solitons in collisionless plasmas

A relativistic electromagnetic soliton solution in the model of a one-dimensional, unbounded, cold, collisionless plasma is obtained without using the envelope approximation. The breaking of solitons with over-critical amplitudes is observed. The stability of undercritical solitons and the breaking of overcritical solitons are demonstrated by a particle-in-cell computer simulation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 1, 33–38 (10 July 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Propagation of solitary waves in relativistic plasmas

By applying a reductive perturbation technique to the basic system of equations governing the plasma dynamics, a modified Korteweg-de Vries (K-dV) equation has been derived in relativistic plasma that includes cold ions and warm nonisothermal electrons. By reducing the effect of nonisothermality, the authors demonstrate the modification of the K-dV equation into different forms which show how to link the behavior of ion-acoustic waves in nonisothermal plasmas with that in isothermal plasmas     

A virial theorem for relativistic plasmas

We obtain a tensor form of the virial theorem for a relativistic charged thermodynamic perfect fluid. As a particular application, we consider the equilibrium of a spherically symmetric charged dust cloud.     

Hamiltonian description of low-temperature relativistic plasmas

We develop a low-temperature fluidlike plasma model without recourse to a collisional closure. The equations are closed by treating the momentum spread asymptotically. This model inherits the Hamiltonian structure, including Casimir invariants of the Vlasov-Maxwell theory. We study temperature evolution in the wake of an intense laser pulse propagating in a plasma. We show that the momentum spread is intrinsically anisotropic and that, for conditions corresponding to recent experiments, modest heating occurs.     

Spontaneous hole-clump pair creation in weakly unstable plasmas

A numerical simulation of a kinetic instability near threshold shows how a hole and clump spontaneously appear in the particle distribution function. The hole and clump support a pair of Bernstein, Greene, Kruskal (BGK) nonlinear waves that last much longer than the inverse linear damping rate while they are upshifting and downshifting in frequency. The frequency shifting allows a balance between the power nonlinearly extracted from the resonant particles and the power dissipated into the background plasma. These waves eventually decay due to phase space gradient smoothing caused by collisionality.     

Parametric instabilities in quantum plasmas with electron exchange-correlation effects

Parametric instabilities induced by the nonlinear interaction between high frequency quantum Langmuir waves and low frequency quantum ion-acoustic waves in quantum plasmas with the electron exchange-correlation effects are presented.By using the quantum hydrodynamic equations with the electron exchange-correlation correction,we obtain an effective quantum Zaharov model,which is then used to derive the modified dispersion relations and the growth rates of the decay and four-wave instabilities.The influences of the electron exchange-correlation effects and the quantum effects on the existence of quantum Langmuir waves and the parametric instabilities are discussed in detail.It is shown that the electron exchange-correlation effects and quantum effects are strongly coupled.The quantum Langmuir wave can propagate in quantum plasmas only when the electron exchange-correlation effects and the quantum effects satisfy a certain condition.The electron exchange-correlation effects tend to enhance the parametric instabilities,while quantum effects suppress the instabilities.