Three-dimensional instabilities of counterpropagating light waves in homogeneous plasma

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992 · Journal of the Optical Society of America, Part B: Optical Physics; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.9.001778· OSTI ID:6996030

McKinstrie, C J ^[1]; Goldman, M V ^[2]

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1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States) Laboratory for Laser Energetics, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)
2. Campus Box 391, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)

A study is made of the three-dimensional instabilities of two light waves counterpropagating in homogeneous plasma. Such instabilities involve from one to four near-resonant electromagnetic sidebands, which interact with each other and the pump waves by scattering from four different ion-acoustic gratings. These gratings can be driven either resonantly, as in stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), or nonresonantly, as in filamentation. No restrictions are placed on the instability geometry. Within the framework of an infinite-medium analysis, the only four-sideband instability is the cooperative filamentation of both light waves, which is absolute in nature. SBS involves a single Stokes sideband and is usually convective. With the sole exception of sideward SBS, each light wave scatters independently. For parameters typical of current inertial-confinement-fusion experiments, the cooperative filamentation of both light waves should be dominant when the light waves have comparable intensities and the ion-acoustic wave damping is strong, while the SBS of the more intense light wave should be dominant when the light waves have disparate intensities and the ion-acoustic wave damping is weak.

• DOE Contract Number: FC03-85DP40200
• OSTI ID: 6996030
• Journal Information: Journal of the Optical Society of America, Part B: Optical Physics; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of the Optical Society of America, Part B: Optical Physics; (United States) Vol. 9:10; ISSN JOBPD; ISSN 0740-3224
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700340* -- Plasma Waves
Oscillations
& Instabilities-- (1992-)
BRILLOUIN EFFECT
COHERENT SCATTERING
DISPERSION RELATIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
GRATINGS
HOMOGENEOUS PLASMA
INSTABILITY
INSTABILITY GROWTH RATES
ION ACOUSTIC WAVES
ION WAVES
PLASMA
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA WAVES
RADIATIONS
SCATTERING
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VISIBLE RADIATION
WAVE PROPAGATION