Optical Mixing in a Magnetized Plasma

Abstract

The nonlinear interactions of two electromagnetic waves resulting in the excitation of electrostatic oscillations in a magnetized homogeneous plasma are studied. A general expression for the spectral density of the induced fluctuations is derived which includes the effect of the ion motion and an externally applied uniform magnetic field. One basic assumption made is that the frequencies of the electromagnetic waves are much larger than any of the plasma resonance frequencies. Numerical calculations are carried out for the specific case where the induced k vector is parallel to the external magnetic field and the results are presented in a series of graphs. The effect of the ion motion for this case is discussed in detail. Some aspects of the case where the induced k vector is perpendicular to the magnetic field are also discussed. It is found that both—the ion motion and an external magnetic field—can significantly influence the spectral density of the fluctuations.