On the Nonlinear Processes During Generation of Current Drive

The manifestations of the induced scattering effects in the generation process of current driven by lower-hybrid (LH) waves are studied taking into account the radiative-resonant interactions. The influence extent of the LH wave modulational instability on current drive is estimated. It is shown that the induced scattering of LH waves on plasma particles leads to a change of the LH waves spectrum and through this leads to an essential influence on fast electrons generation rate and the steady-state current drive. The modulational instability of LH waves can provide a “spectral gap” filling in the case of sufficiently strong LH wave pumping.     

Modulational instability in systems with integrating nonlinearity

A new type of modulational instability for coherent as well as partially coherent light in systems with integrating nonlinearity caused by an irreversible process is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. In such systems plane waves never reach the stationary limit and exhibit a nontrivial time dependence resulting in new features of the modulational instability. For example, the modulational frequency of the nonexponentially increasing perturbation with maximum gain decreases while the wave is propagating. The threshold for vanishing modulational instability due to a finite degree of spatial coherence depends only on system parameters and not on the light intensity.     

On Modulational Interaction of the Lower-Hybrid Drift Oscillations

The general nonlinear equation of the third order in field strength for the lower-hybrid drift waves in inhomogeneous plasma is obtained on the basis of kinetic theory. This equation enables us to describe strong turbulence effects (modulational instability, soliton-like solutions, etc.) as well as weak turbulence effects (decays, scattering). The investigation of the modulational instability of the lower-hybrid drift waves is carried out. It is demonstrated that the development of the lower-hybrid drift wave modulational instability is possible only when the wavevector of the modulational perturbations is less or of the order of the wavevector of the pump wave. The condition on the wave vectors, when the nonlinear response defining the character of the modulational instability is determined by the inhomogeneity effects, is obtained.     

On Modulational Instability of Turbulent Spectra

The character of the modulational instability of a Langmuir wave packet is usually assumed to be similar to that of the instability of a monochromatic pump Langmuir wave if the width of the packet is small when compared to the rate of the instability. This assumption has been confirmed only for the case corresponding to the “hydrodynamical” development of the modulational instability, i.e., for the case when the phase velocity of the modulational perturbations exceeds the ion thermal velocity. Here we consider the opposite case (when the phase velocity of the modulational perturbations is less than the ion thermal velocity) which corresponds to the “static” development of the instability. We demonstrate that the above assumption is valid for the situation considered.     

Nature of the intrinsic relation between Bloch-band tunneling and modulational instability

In an example of Bose-Einstein condensates embedded in two-dimensional optical lattices, we show that in nonlinear periodic systems modulational instability and interband tunneling are intrinsically related phenomena. By direct numerical simulations we find that tunneling results in attenuation or enhancement of instability. On the other hand, instability results in asymmetric nonlinear tunneling. The effect strongly depends on the band gap structure and it is especially significant in the case of the resonant tunneling. The symmetry of the coherent structures emerging from the instability reflects the symmetry of both the stable and the unstable states between which the tunneling occurs. Our results provide evidence of the profound effect of the band structure on the superfluid-insulator transition.     

Amplitude modulation of kinetic Alfvén waves and the formation of nonlinear structures

The theory of the amplitude modulation of finite amplitude kinetic Alfvén waves in a medium beta plasma is re-examined and extended. The modulational and filamentational instabilities as well as associated localized structures in magnetic field and plasma density are investigated. The relevance of our investigation to coherent nonlinear structures in the ionospheric plasma is pointed out.     

Dipole states in the deuteron,other exotic nuclei,and “Schrödinger’s Cat”

The question whether the “soft giant dipole modes” in halo nuclei are resonances is discussed. It is argued that a resonance picture of these modes can be envisaged with a non Breit-Wigner line shape. The dipole Coulomb breakup of the deuteron is worked out as a specific example of such a picture. The “soft” and “hard” dipole modes of the more complex neutron-rich exotic nuclei are treated from this point of view. An interpretation of the coherent production of these modes in Coulomb excitation as a nuclear instance of Schrödinger cat state is advanced.     

Incoherent modulation instability in instantaneous nonlinear Kerr media

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally in an optical fiber system that partially temporally incoherent light exhibits modulational instability during its propagation in an instantaneous response nonlinear medium. We show that the modulation frequency and gain are substantially increased with respect to the corresponding values of coherent modulational instability.     

Rapid beat generation of large-scale zonal flows by drift waves: a nonlinear generic paradigm

The generalized Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation is unstable to a four wave modulational instability whereby a coherent, monochromatic drift wave can drive a band of modes and associated zonal flows unstable. Although initially the fastest growing modes dominate, a secondary nonlinear instability later drives the longest wavelength zonal flow and its associated sidebands at twice the growth rate of the fastest growing modulationally unstable modes. This results in a direct transfer from strongly unstable short wavelength modes to the weakly unstable long wavelength modes, which drains the short wavelength pump energy. A related but less efficient direct enstrophy cascade generates very short wavelength modes lying outside the band of modulationally unstable modes.     

Numerical Modeling of the Process of Parametric Generation of the Cyclotron Radiation in a Reactive Medium

We present the results of numerical modeling of the effect of amplification of coherent bichromatic radiation due to its cyclotron parametric interaction with a modulated ensemble of electrons in the absence of partial synchronism of waves and particles. The numerical results agree with the analytical conclusions. We find that under certain conditions, the developing parametric instability is accompanied by “driving” of the wave frequencies to the resonance with the particles, which results in significant “peaking” of the instability.     

Modulational instability of ion—acoustic waves in a warm plasma

Using the standard reductive perturbation technique,a nonlinear Schroedinger equation is derived to study the modulational instability of finite-amplitude ion-acoustic waves in a non-magnetized warm plasma.It is found that the inclusion of ion temperature in the equation modifies the nature of the ion-acoustic wave stability and the soliton stuctures.The effects of ion plasma temperature on the modulational stability and ion-acoustic wave properties are inestigated in detail.     

Nonlinear ion-acoustic structures in a nonextensive electron–positron–ion–dust plasma: Modulational instability and rogue waves

The nonlinear propagation of planar and nonplanar (cylindrical and spherical) ion-acoustic waves in an unmagnetized electron–positron–ion–dust plasma with two-electron temperature distributions is investigated in the context of the nonextensive statistics. Using the reductive perturbation method, a modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived for the potential wave amplitude. The effects of plasma parameters on the modulational instability of ion-acoustic waves are discussed in detail for planar as well as for cylindrical and spherical geometries. In addition, for the planar case, we analyze how the plasma parameters influence the nonlinear structures of the first- and second-order ion-acoustic rogue waves within the modulational instability region. The present results may be helpful in providing a good fit between the theoretical analysis and real applications in future spatial observations and laboratory plasma experiments.     

Structural transitions in silicon induced by a femtosecond laser pulse: The role of an electron-hole plasma and phonon-phonon anharmonicity

It is shown by the methods of time-resolved self-reflection and linear reflection that irradiation of a silicon target by a 100-fs laser pulse induces successive structural transitions of the target material to new crystal and liquid metal phases, which can occur during the laser pulse or 0.1–10³ ps after the pulse termination, depending on the excitation conditions. The thresholds of these structural transitions are determined, and “’soft” phonon modes involved in them are identified, which represent “hot” short-wavelength LA modes. The dynamics of the structural transitions in silicon in the time interval from 0.1 to 10³ ps is described using the model of instability of phonon modes caused by an electron-hole plasma and intra-and intermode phonon-phonon anharmonic interactions     

Synthesis and morphology of silicon oxide nanowires from a free jet activated by electron-beam plasma

Silicon oxide nanowires were synthesized from monosilane–argon–hydrogen mixture by the gas-jet electron-beam plasma chemical deposition method with simultaneous oxygen injection into the vacuum chamber. The synthesis was performed on monocrystalline silicon substrates covered with micron and nanometer tin catalyst particles. The nanowires are formed the via vapor–liquid–solid mechanism in the “catalyst-on-bottom” mode, in which many nanowires grow from one catalyst particle. The process of synthesizing nanowires on a substrate with catalyst consists of three stages: heating to synthesis temperature, hydrogen plasma treatment, and nanowire growth. In the substrate region corresponding to the jet axis, different structures are formed depending on the catalyst particle size. For catalyst particles under 100 nm, there are formed structures of chaotically oriented and interlaced bundles of silica nanowires. For catalyst particles of 0.3–1 micron, there are formed oriented arrays of cylindrically shaped nanowire bundles (“microropes”). Cocoon-like structures are formed for catalyst particles of more than 1 micron.We propose a model of nanowire growth by this method, which is based on nonuniform heating of a catalyst particle by a directed plasma flow. It was found that for synthesis of oriented microrope arrays the initial tin film thickness should be less than 100 nm and the synthesis process should include a hydrogen plasma treatment stage.     

Intrinsic Localized Spin Wave Modes and Modulational Instability in a Two-Dimensional Heisenberg Ferromagnet

An analytical study on the properties of intrinsic localized modes and modulational instability in a quantum two-dimensional ferromagnet with single-ion uniaxial anisotropy is completed in the semiclassical limit. By making use of the semidiscrete multiple-scale method, we obtain a line localized solution and a radially symmetric localized solution, and analyze their existence conditions. Taking into account that the existence of bright localized solutions is closely linked to the modulational instability of plane waves, we analytically study the discrete modulational instability of plane spin waves. The result of the modulational instability analysis show that the uniaxial anisotropy plays a key role in the appearance of our intrinsic localized spin wave modes.     

Modulational Instability and Energy Localization in a Chain of Interacting Frenkel Excitons

The modulational instability in one-dimensional molecule chain of interacting Frenkel excitons is investigated. The formation of localized modes via modulational instability is predicted and the previous numerical and analytical results are explained. The Peierls-Nabarro (PN) potential barrier for the localized modes is also discussed.     

Propagation dynamics of relativistic electromagnetic solitary wave as well as modulational instability in plasmas

By one-dimensional particle-in-cell(PIC) simulations, the propagation and stability of relativistic electromagnetic(EM) solitary waves as well as modulational instability of plane EM waves are studied in uniform cold electron-ion plasmas.The investigation not only confirms the solitary wave motion characteristics and modulational instability theory, but more importantly, gives the following findings. For a simulation with the plasma density 10²³ m^-3 and the dimensionless vector potential amplitude 0.18, it is found that the EM solitary wave can stably propagate when the carrier wave frequency is smaller than 3.83 times of the plasma frequency. While for the carrier wave frequency larger than that, it can excite a very weak Langmuir oscillation, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the transverse electron momentum and may in turn modulate the EM solitary wave and cause the modulational instability, so that the solitary wave begins to deform after a long enough distance propagation. The stable propagation distance before an obvious observation of instability increases(decreases) with the increase of the carrier wave frequency(vector potential amplitude). The study on the plane EM wave shows that a modulational instability may occur and its wavenumber is approximately equal to the modulational wavenumber by Langmuir oscillation and is independent of the carrier wave frequency and the vector potential amplitude.This reveals the role of the Langmuir oscillation excitation in the inducement of modulational instability and also proves the modulational instability of EM solitary wave.     

Generation of optical domain-wall structures from modulational instability in a bimodal fiber

We study experimentally modulational instability in a normally dispersive bimodal fiber under modal group-velocity-matching conditions. In the strong pump depletion regime, higher order sideband harmonics detected in the output spectra as well as autocorrelation measurements reveal the formation of subpicosecond domain-wall structures. Across these temporal structures the electromagnetic field distribution switches abruptly between the two transverse modes of the fiber. These structures are reminiscent of the so-called domain-wall soliton. Our results constitute therefore an experimental indication of the existence of this fundamental soliton.