Plasma instability in a strong,circularly polarized electromagnetic wave

Conclusions In summary, we have studied the parametric instability of a cold electron plasma in a strong, circularly polarized electromagnetic wave, taking into account the relativistic nature of the electron motion. We have shown that an instability of longitudinal waves occurs at frequencies _p/ and _p/, while an instability of transverse waves occurs at frequencies ₀±₀ and ₀±_p/. The results of a numerical solution of the dispersion relation for large pump amplitudes, in which case the approximation of a weak coupling between waves is not applicable, show that the growth rates and the bands of the instabilities increase with increasing pump amplitude. We have found that in the case of the excitation of electromagnetic plasma waves, even at low pump amplitudes, the relativistic nature of the electron motion can be of decisive importance for the effect.T. G. Shevchenko Kiev State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 1481–1488, October, 1976.