Nonlinear excitation of acoustic modes by large amplitude Alfvén waves in a laboratory plasma

Abstract

The nonlinear three-wave interaction process at the heart of the parametric decay process is studied by launching counter-propagating Alfvén waves from antennas placed at either end of the Large Plasma Device (LAPD). A resonance in the beat wave response produced by the two launched Alfvén waves is observed and is identified as a damped ion acoustic mode based on the measured dispersion relation. Other properties of the interaction including the spatial profile of the beat mode and response amplitude are also consistent with theoretical predictions for a three-wave interaction driven by a non-linear pondermotive force.

5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Laboratory Space Physics: Investigating the Physics of Space Plasmas in the Laboratory
• Observation of an Alfvén Wave Parametric Instability in a Laboratory Plasma
• Alfven Wave Collisions, The Fundamental Building Block of Plasma Turbulence III: Theory for Experimental Design
• Hybrid simulation of Alfvén wave parametric decay instability in a laboratory relevant plasma