Scattering and Modulational Instabilities in Magnetized Plasmas

Abstract

The decay of a high-frequency wave into a scattered and an electrostatic wave is investigated for a homogeneous magnetized plasma. For wave propagation in arbitrary directions, an equation for the scattered wave is obtained accounting for the effect of the non-linear current density produced by the three-wave interaction process. As an illustration, the propagation of electromagnetic waves perpendicular to the external magnetic field is considered. The growth rates and thresholds for the stimulated scattering and modulational instabilities are obtained. The influence of a weak inhomogeneity is also considered.