title: Multiple beam two-plasmon decay: linear threshold to nonlinear saturation in three dimensions.
abstract: The linear stability of multiple coherent laser beams with respect to two-plasmon-decay instability in an inhomogeneous plasma in three dimensions has been determined. Cooperation between beams leads to absolute instability of long-wavelength decays, while shorter-wavelength shared waves are shown to saturate convectively. The multibeam, in its absolutely unstable form, has the lowest threshold for most cases considered. Nonlinear calculations using a three-dimensional extended Zakharov model show that Langmuir turbulence created by the absolute instability modifies the convective saturation of the shorter-wavelength modes, which are seen to dominate at late times.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Myatt
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Short
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, 250 East River Road, Rochester, New York 14623-1299, USA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Maximov
authors.affiliation: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0407, USA.
authors.forename: H X
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.affiliation: Lodestar Research Corporation, 2400 Central Avenue, P-5, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: DuBois
authors.affiliation: Lodestar Research Corporation, 2400 Central Avenue, P-5, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Russell