NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF LOWER HYBRID WAVE-PROPAGATION IN A PLASMA

The propagation of a lower hybrid wave in an inhomogeneous plasma is investigated numerically. By solving the system of two-fluid equations and the Poisson equation in the two-dimensional geometry, ray trajectories of a lower hybrid wave are traced. The cases of cold plasma approximation, linear approximation and nonlinear two-fluid model are examined for the periodic external wave source of infinite length. In the nonlinear calculation in a warm plasma, any noticeable nonlinear phenomenon such as self-modulation of hybrid cones is not observed. The effect of density fluctuation due to a drift wave on the conical ray trajectories is also studied. © 1979, THE PHYSICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN. All rights reserved.