NONLINEAR ION WAVES DRIVEN BY THE PERIODIC PONDEROMOTIVE FORCE

The nonlinear properties of ion acoustic waves produced by a strong ponderomotive force have been analyzed in the regime where the amplitude of ponderomotive potential is comparable to the plasma thermal energy density. Analytical solutions of the nonlinear fluid equations predict formation of the periodic sequence of shock waves. These solutions compare well with the results of numerical simulations of the full set of the hydrodynamical and Maxwell equations, which also reveal the oscillatory structure of the shock. These results are applied to the analysis of stimulated Brillouin scattering. © 1990 The American Physical Society.