Type-III-burst radio signals can be mimicked in the laboratory via laser-plasma interaction. Instead of an electron beam generating Langmuir waves (LW) in the interplanetary medium, the LWs are created by a laser interacting with a millimeter-sized plasma through the stimulated Raman instability. In both cases, the LWs feed the Langmuir decay instability which scatters them in several directions. The resulting LWs may couple to form electromagnetic emission at twice the plasma frequency, which has been detected in the interplanetary medium, and recently in a laboratory laser experiment [Marquès et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 135001 (2020)]. This article presents the first numerical analysis of this laser configuration using particle-in-cell simulations, providing details on the wave spectra that are too difficult to measure in experiments. The role of some parameters is addressed, with a focus on laser intensity, in order to illustrate the behavior of the electromagnetic emission's angular distribution and polarization.
In this paper, we consider the spectral dependences of transverse electromagnetic waves generated in solar plasma at coalescence of Langmuir waves. It is shown that different spectra of Langmuir waves lead to characteristic types of transversal electromagnetic wave spectra, what makes it possible to diagnose the features of the spectra of Langmuir waves generated in solar plasma.
Topological Langmuir-Cyclotron Wave (TLCW) is a recently identified topological surface excitation in magnetized plasmas. We show that TLCW originates from the topological phase transition at the Langmuir wave-cyclotron wave resonance. By isofrequency surface analysis and 2D and 3D time-dependent simulations, we demonstrate that the TLCW can propagate robustly along complex phase transition interfaces in a unidirectional manner and without scattering. Because of these desirable features, the TLCW could be explored as an effective mechanism to drive current and flow in magnetized plasmas. The a…
Equations describing the linear evolution of a non-dissipative Langmuir wave in inhomogeneous nonstationary anisotropic plasma without magnetic field are derived in the geometrical optics approximation. A continuity equation is obtained for the wave action density, and the conditions for the action conservation are formulated. In homogeneous plasma, the wave field E universally scales with the electron density N as E ~ N^{3/4}, whereas the wavevector evolution varies depending on the wave geometry.
Propagation of Langmuir solitons in inhomogeneous plasmas is investigated numerically. Through numerical simulation solving Zakharov equations, the solitons are accelerated toward the low density side. As a consequence, isolated cavities moving at ion sound velocities are emitted. When the acceleration is further increased, solitons collapse and the cavities separate into two lumps released at ion sound velocities. The threshold is estimated by an analogy between the soliton and a particle overcoming the self-generated potential well.
Backward stimulated Raman scattering (BSRS) with Langmuir decay instability (LDI) and Langmuir collapse has been researched by Vlasov simulation for the first time. The decay productions of LDI cascade and their evolution with time is clearly demonstrated, which occurs simultaneously with Langmuir collapse. The BSRS reflectivity will be decreased largely through LDI cascade and Langmuir collapse. In CH plasmas, when $T_i/T_e=1/3$, the Landau damping of the slow ion-acoustic wave (IAW) is lower than that in H plasmas. Therefore, the BSRS can be further suppressed through LDI cascade by the way …
The propagation of ionic perturbations in a dusty plasma is considered through a three-species kinetic simulation approach, in which the temporal evolution of all three elements i.e. electrons, ions and dust particles are followed based on the Vlasov equation coupled with the Poisson equation. Two cases are focused upon: firstly a fully electron depleted dusty plasma, i.e., a plasma consisting of ions and dust-particles. The second case includes dusty plasmas with large electron-to-ion temperature ratios. The main features of the ionic waves in these two settings including the dispersion relat…
The longitudinal dynamics of a resonantly driven Langmuir wave are analyzed in the limit that the growth of the electrostatic wave is slow compared to the bounce frequency. Using simple physical arguments, the nonlinear distribution function is shown to be nearly gaussian in the canonical particle action, with a slowly evolving mean and fixed variance. Self-consistency with the electrostatic potential provide the basic properties of the nonlinear distribution function including a frequency shift that agrees well with driven, electrostatic particle simulations. This extends earlier work on nonl…
The quantum hydrodynamic model of the electrostatic waves in the two parallel layers of two dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) is developed. It is considered for two regimes: classic regime and quantum regime with the separate spin evolution. Two Langmuir-like waves are found in classic case which have an interference-like pattern in the frequency dependence on concentration $ω^{2}\sim(n_{01}+n_{02}\pm2\sqrt{n_{01}n_{02}})$. They appear instead of two 2D Langmuir waves in noninteracting 2DEGs. The spectrum of four waves is found in the quantum regime. Two extra waves are related to the separat…
In recent studies we have multiply envisioned the irrationality of the traditional plasma kinetis [1--5]. Its basic false cornerstone was shown to be the substitution of real plasmas by plasma probabilistic ensembles [1--3]. We have created culture of plasma studies with refrain from an ensemble substitution [1-8]. We discovered intense decay of Langmuir quanta, as opposite to traditional deduction of their conservation [1-3]. The quanta decay prevents formation of Langmuir condensate in a weak Langmuir turbulence [1, Appendix], suppresses long-wavelength plasma modulational instability [3], p…
The reliability of Langmuir probe measurements for plasma-turbulence investigations is studied on GEMR gyro-fluid simulations and compared with results from conditionally sampled I-V characteristics as well as self-emitting probe measurements in the near scrape-off layer of the tokamak ASDEX Upgrade. In this region, simulation and experiment consistently show coherent in-phase fluctuations in density, plasma potential and also in electron temperature. Ion-saturation current measurements turn out to reproduce density fluctuations quite well. Fluctuations in the floating potential, however, are …
We describe a procedure to obtain the plasma parameters from the I-V Langmuir curve by using the Druyvesteyn equation. We propose to include two new parameters, $q$ and $r$, to the usual plasma parameters: plasma potential ($V_p$), floating potential ($V_f$), electron density ($n$), and electron temperature ($T$). These new parameters can be particularly useful to represent non-Maxwellian distributions. The procedure is based on the fit of the I-V Langmuir curve with the $q$-Weibull distribution function, and is motivated by recent works which use the $q$-exponential distribution function deri…
The decays of the Langmuir waves in dense plasmas are computed using the dielectric function theory widely used in the solid state physics. Four cases are considered: a classical plasma, a Maxwellian plasma, a degenerate quantum plasma, and a partially degenerate plasma. The result is considerably different from the conventional Landau damping theory.
Nonlinear regimes of one-dimensional parametric instabilities of long-wave plasma waves are considered for the cases when the average plasma field energy density is less (Zakharov's model) or greater (Silin's model) than the plasma thermal energy density. The hybrid models presented in this paper treat the electrons as a fluid by way of an equation for the high-frequency wave and treat the ions kinetically with a super-particle simulation. This makes possible consideration of non-resonant particles trapped by high-frequency oscillations and the influence of trajectory crossing on the developme…
The modulational instability (MI) and the evolution of weakly nonlinear two-dimensional (2D) Langmuir wave (LW) packets are studied in an unmagnetized collisionless plasma with weakly relativistic electron flow. By using a 2D self-consistent relativistic fluid model and employing the standard multiple-scale technique, a coupled set of Davey-Stewartson (DS)-like equations is derived which governs the slow modulation and the evolution of LW packets in relativistic plasmas. It is found that the relativistic effects favor the instability of LW envelopes in the kθ plane, where k is the wave number …
A simulation study is performed to investigate the dynamics of coupled Langmuir waves (LWs) and ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) in an unmagnetized plasma. The effects of dispersion due to charge separation and the density nonlinearity associated with the IAWs, are considered to modify the properties of Langmuir solitons, as well as to model the dynamics of relatively large amplitude wave envelopes. It is found that the Langmuir wave electric field, indeed, increases by the effect of ion-wave nonlinearity (IWN). Use of a low-dimensional model, based on three Fourier modes shows that a transition to t…
Nonlinear propagation of electrostatic modes in ultrarelativistic dense elelectron-positron gravito-plasma at the polar cap region of pulsar magnetosphere is considered. A nonlinear Schrödinger equation is obtained from the reductive perturbation method which predicts the existence of Langmuir dark solitons. Relevance of the propagating dark solitons to the pulsar radio emission is discussed.
Halo currents generated during disruptions on Alcator C-Mod have been measured with Langmuir "rail" probes. These rail probes are embedded in a lower outboard divertor module in a closely-spaced vertical (poloidal) array. The dense array provides detailed resolution of the spatial dependence (~1 cm spacing) of the halo current distribution in the plasma scrape-off region with high time resolution (400 kHz digitization rate). As the plasma limits on the outboard divertor plate, the contact point is clearly discernible in the halo current data (as an inversion of current) and moves vertically do…
The impact of superthermal electrons on dispersion properties of isotropic plasmas and on the modulational instability of a monochromatic Langmuir wave is studied for the case when the power-law tail of the electron distribution function extends to relativistic velocities and contains most of the plasma kinetic energy. Such an energetic tail of electrons is shown to increase the thermal correction to the Langmuir wave frequency, which is equivalent to the increase of the effective electron temperature in the fluid approach, and has almost no impact on the dispersion of ion-acoustic waves, in w…
Plasmas have been recently studied as topological materials. However, a comprehensive picture of topological phases and topological phase transitions in cold magnetized plasmas is still missing. Here we systematically map out all the topological phases and establish the bulk-edge correspondence in cold magnetized plasmas. We find that for the linear eigenmodes, there are 10 topological phases in the parameter space of density $n$, magnetic field $B$, and parallel wavenumber $k_{z}$, separated by the surfaces of Langmuir wave-L wave resonance, Langmuir wave-cyclotron wave resonance, and zero ma…
Langmuir probe techniques have been used to study time and spatially resolved electron densities and electron temperatures in pulse-modulated hydrogen discharges in two different planar microwave reactors (fmicrowave= 2.45 GHz, tpulse= 1 ms). The reactors are (i) a standing-wave radiative slotted waveguide reactor and (ii) a modified travelling-wave radiative slotted waveguide reactor, which generate relatively large plasmas over areas from about 350 cm^2 to 500 cm^2. The plasma properties of these reactor types are of particular interest as they have been used for basic research and for plasm…
We study the nonlinear wave modulation of Langmuir waves (LWs) in a fully degenerate plasma. Using the Wigner-Moyal equation coupled to the Poisson equation and the multiple scale expansion technique, a modified nonlocal nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger (NLS) equation is derived which governs the evolution of LW envelopes in degenerate plasmas. The nonlocal nonlinearity in the NLS equation appears due to the group velocity and multi-plasmon resonances, i.e., resonances induced by the simultaneous particle absorption of multiple wave quanta. We focus on the regime where the resonant velocity of electron…
The development of one-dimensional parametric instabilities of intense long-wave plasma waves is considered in terms of the so-called hybrid models, when electrons are treated as a fluid and ions are regarded as particles. The analysis is performed for both cases when the average plasma field energy is lower (Zakharov's hybrid model -- ZHM) or greater (Silin's hybrid model -- SHM) than the plasma thermal energy. The efficiency of energy transfer to ions and to ion perturbations under the development of the instability is considered for various values of electron-to-ion mass ratios. The energy …
The evolution of a solar flare accelerated non-thermal electron population and associated plasma emission is considered in collisional inhomogeneous plasma. Non-thermal electrons collisionally evolve to become unstable and generate Langmuir waves, which may lead to intense radio emission. We self-consistently simulated the collisional relaxation of electrons, wave-particle interactions, and non-linear Langmuir wave evolution in plasma with density fluctuations. Additionally, we simulated the scattering, decay, and coalescence of the Langmuir waves which produce radio emission at the fundamenta…
We consider two kinds of pumped Langmuir waves (LWs) in the kinetic regime, $kλ_D\gtrsim0.2,$ where $k$ is the LW wavenumber and $λ_D$ is the Debye length. They are driven to finite amplitude by a coherent external potential whose amplitude is either weak or strong. These dynamically prepared nonlinear LWs develop a transverse (filamentation) instability whose nonlinear evolution destroys the LW's transverse coherence. Instability growth rates in the weakly pumped regime are the same as those of BGK modes considered in Part I, while strongly pumped LWs have higher filamentation grow rates.
High-frequency photons traveling in plasma exhibit a linear polarizability that can influence the dispersion of linear plasma waves. We present a detailed calculation of this effect for Langmuir waves as a characteristic example. Two alternative formulations are given. In the first formulation, we calculate the modified dispersion of Langmuir waves by solving the governing equations for the electron fluid, where the photon contribution enters as a ponderomotive force. In the second formulation, we provide a derivation based on the photon polarizability. Then, the calculation of ponderomotive f…
In plasma-based backward Raman amplifiers, the output pulse intensity increases with the input pump pulse intensity, as long as the Langmuir wave mediating energy transfer from the pump to the seed pulse remains intact. However, at high pump intensity, the Langmuir wave breaks, at which point the amplification efficiency may no longer increase with the pump intensity. Numerical simulations presented here, employing a 1D Vlasov-Maxwell code, show that, although the amplification efficiency remains high when the pump only mildly exceeds the wavebreaking threshold, the efficiency drops precipitou…
We study stable axially and spherically symmetric spatial solitons in plasma with diatomic ions. The stability of a soliton against the collapse is provided by the interaction of induced electric dipole moments of ions with rapidly oscillating electric field of a plasmoid. We derive the new cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrodinger equation which governs the soliton dynamics and numerically solve it. Then we discuss the possibility of implementation of such plasmoids in realistic atmospheric plasma. In particular, we suggest that spherically symmetric Langmuir solitons, described in the present work…
If we study the quantum effects in plasmas in terms of traditional hydrodynamics via the continuity and Euler equations we find the quantum Bohm potential and the force of spin-spin interaction. However, if we extend the set hydrodynamic equations beyond the 13-moments approximation, and include the third rank tensor evolution equation along with the pressure evolution equation, we obtain the quantum corrections to the Coulomb interaction. It is found in contrast with the fact that hydrodynamic equations for the higher rank tensors do not contain interaction in the classic plasmas studied in t…
A new experimental platform based on laser-plasma interaction is proposed to explore the fundamental processes of wave coupling at the origin of interplanetary radio emissions. It is applied to the study of electromagnetic (EM) emission at twice the plasma frequency ($2ω_p$) observed during solar bursts and thought to result from the coalescence of two Langmuir waves (LWs). In the interplanetary medium, the first LW is excited by electron beams, while the second is generated by electrostatic decay of Langmuir waves. In the present experiment, instead of an electron beam, an energetic laser pro…
Wave-wave interaction in plasmas is a topic of important research since the 16th century. The formation of Langmuir solitons through the coupling of high-frequency (hf) Langmuir and low-frequency (lf) ion-acoustic waves, is one of the most interesting features in the context of turbulence in modern plasma physics. Moreover, quantum plasmas, which are ubiquitous in ultrasmall electronic devices, micromechanical systems as well as in dense astrophysical environments are a topic of current research. In the light of notable interests in such quantum plasmas, we present here a theoretical investiga…
Evidence of Langmuir/$\mathcal{Z}$-mode Wave Decay into $\mathcal{Z}$-mode Electromagnetic Radiation in the Solar Wind
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (LPP), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris（等离子体物理实验室，法国国家科学研究中心，索邦大学，巴黎天文台，巴黎萨克雷大学，巴黎综合理工学院，巴黎理工学院）；Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)（法兰西学院）
Non-thermal electron populations are observed throughout the heliosphere. The relaxation of an electron beam is known to produce Langmuir waves which, in turn, may substantially modify the electron distribution function. As the Langmuir waves are refracted by background density gradients and as the solar and heliospheric plasma density is naturally perturbed with various levels of inhomogeneity, the interaction of Langmuir waves with non-thermal electrons in inhomogeneous plasmas is an important topic. We investigate the role played by ambient density fluctuations on the beam-plasma relaxation…
The before described general principles and methodology of calculating electron wave propagation in homogeneous isotropic half-infinity slab of Maxwellian plasma with indefinite but in principal value sense taken integrals in characteristic equations, and the use of 2D Laplace transform method are applied to an evaluation of collision damping decrements of plane electron longitudinal and transverse waves. Damping decrement tends to infinity when the wave frequency tends to electron Langmuir frequency from above values. We considered recurrent relations for amplitudes of the overtones which for…
Statistical properties of the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma fluctuations are studied in ohmically heated plasmas in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. For the first time, plasma fluctuations as well as parameters that describe the fluctuations are compared across measurements from a mirror Langmuir probe (MLP) and from gas-puff imaging (GPI) that sample the same plasma discharge. This comparison is complemented by an analysis of line emission time-series data, synthesized from the MLP electron density and temperature measurements. The fluctuations observed by the MLP and GPI typically display relative…
Langmuir turbulence is an archetype of wave turbulence in plasma physics. By means of 1D-1V Vlasov-Poisson simulations, we show that coherent structures, called Langmuir cavitons, are generated by the long time evolution of Langmuir weak turbulence, thus illustrating the breakdown of a weak turbulence regime. These structures correspond to an equilibrium between the pressure forces and the ponderomotive force resulting from high frequency Langmuir oscillations. Langmuir cavitons are typical features of strong Langmuir turbulence expected to be generated at high energy and to saturate when Lang…
The Sun frequently accelerates near-relativistic electron beams that travel out through the solar corona and interplanetary space. Interacting with their plasma environment, these beams produce type III radio bursts, the brightest astrophysical radio sources seen from the Earth. The formation and motion of type III fine frequency structures is a puzzle but is commonly believed to be related to plasma turbulence in the solar corona and solar wind. Combining a theoretical framework with kinetic simulations and high-resolution radio type III observations using the Low Frequency Array, we quantita…
Analysis of wave processes using beam-driven Langmuir/$\mathcal{Z}$-mode waveforms generated in Particle-In-Cell simulations
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (LPP), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, Ecole polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris（等离子体物理实验室，法国国家科学研究中心，索邦大学，巴黎天文台，巴黎萨克雷大学，巴黎综合理工学院，巴黎理工学院）；Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)（法兰西学院）
Quasilinear theory has long been used to treat the problem of a weak electron beam interacting with plasma and generating Langmuir waves. Its extension to weak-turbulence theory treats resonant interactions of these Langmuir waves with other plasma wave modes, in particular ion-sound waves. These are strongly damped in plasma of equal ion and electron temperatures, as sometimes seen in, for example, the solar corona and wind. Weak turbulence theory is derived in the weak damping limit, with a term describing ion-sound wave damping then added. In this paper we use the EPOCH particle-in-cell cod…
I study stable spatial Langmuir solitons in plasma based on nonlinear radial oscillations of charged particles. I discuss two situations when a Langmuir soliton can be stable. In the former case the stability of solitons against the collapse is due to electron-electron interactions which result in the nonlocal terms in the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. In the latter situation I derive the new cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with accounts for the interaction of induced dipole moments of diatomic ions with a rapidly oscillating electric field and show that the collapse of Langmuir…
A possible solution to the unexplained high intensity hard x-ray (HXR) emission observable during solar flares was investigated via 3D fully relativistic, electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with realistic ion to electron mass ratio. A beam of accelerated electrons was injected into a magnetised, Maxwellian, homogeneous and inhomogeneous background plasma. The electron distribution function was unstable to the beam-plasma instability and was shown to generate Langmuir waves, while relaxing to plateau formation. In order to estimate the role of the background density gradient on …
The Buneman and ion acoustic instabilities are usually associated with different electron and ion drift velocities, in such a way that there is a large current through the plasma. However, due to the recently discovered current-driven Langmuir oscillations (1-3), the relative drift velocity in these configurations will oscillate at the plasma frequency, and with an amplitude of at least the initial drift velocity. In contrast, the textbooks assume a constant drift velocity. Since the growth rates arrived at under that assumption are far less than the plasma frequency, several oscillation perio…
Debye shielding, collisional transport, Landau damping of Langmuir waves, and spontaneous emission of these waves are introduced, in typical plasma physics textbooks, in different chapters. This paper provides a compact unified introduction to these phenomena without appealing to fluid or kinetic models, but by using Newton's second law for a system of $N$ electrons in a periodic box with a neutralizing ionic background. A rigorous equation is derived for the electrostatic potential. Its linearization and a first smoothing reveal this potential to be the sum of the shielded Coulomb potentials …
An intense terahertz (THz) radiation generated by the beating of two Langmuir waves, which are excited by the forward Raman scattering, is analyzed theoretically. The radiation energy per shot can be as high as 0.1 J, with the duration of 10 pico-second. Appropriate plasma density and the laser characteristics are examined.
The propagation of Langmuir waves in plasmas is known to be sensitive to density fluctuations. Such fluctuations may lead to the coexistence of wave pairs that have almost opposite wave-numbers in the vicinity of their reflection points. Using high frequency electric field measurements from the WIND satellite, we determine for the first time the wavelength of intense Langmuir wave packets that are generated upstream of the Earth's electron foreshock by energetic electron beams. Surprisingly, the wavelength is found to be 2 to 3 times larger than the value expected from standard theory. These v…
The effects of laser-plasma interactions (LPI) on the dynamics of inertial confinement fusion hohlraums is investigated via a new approach that self-consistently couples reduced LPI models into radiation-hydrodynamics numerical codes. The interplay between hydrodynamics and LPI -- specifically stimulated Raman scatter (SRS) and crossed-beam energy transfer (CBET) -- mostly occurs via momentum and energy deposition into Langmuir and ion acoustic waves. This spatially redistributes energy coupling to the target, which affects the background plasma conditions and thus modifies laser propagation. …
Degenerate plasmas with motionless ions show existence of three surface waves: the Langmuir wave, the electromagnetic wave, and the zeroth sound. Applying the separated spin evolution quantum hydrodynamics to half-space plasma we demonstrate the existence of the surface spin-electron acoustic wave (SSEAW). We study dispersion of the SSEAW. We show that there is hybridization between the surface Langmuir wave and the SSEAW at rather small spin polarization. In the hybridization area the dispersion branches are located close to each other. In this area there is a strong interaction between these…
In present paper, we describe a theoretical model of generation of harmonic emissions of type III solar radio bursts. The goal of our study is to fully take into account the most efficient physical processes participating in generation of harmonic electromagnetic emission via nonlinear coupling of Langmuir waves in randomly inhomogeneous plasma of solar wind ($l+l^{'} \rightarrow t$). We revisit the conventional mechanism of coalescence of primarily generated and back-scattered Langmuir waves in quasihomogeneous plasma. Additionally, we propose and investigate another mechanism that generates …
A nonlinear Langmuir wave in the kinetic regime $kλ_D\gtrsim0.2$ may have a filamentation instability, where $k$ is the wavenumber and $λ_D$ is the Debye length. The nonlinear stage of that instability develops into the filamentation of Langmuir waves which in turn leads to the saturation of the stimulated Raman scattering in laser-plasma interaction experiments. Here we study the linear stage of the filamentation instability of the particular family \cite{RoseRussellPOP2001} of Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) modes \cite{BernsteinGreeneKruskal1957} that is a bifurcation of the linear Langmuir …
