Decay instability of a laser pulse propagating in a transverse direction in a magnetized plasma

The decay instability of a lser pulse propagating across an external magnetic field in a subscritical plasma is investigated analytically and numerically. It is shown that, when the relaxation of the pulse is taken into account, the hydrodynamic growth rate of the decay instability is slower than that obtained earlier in the constant-amplitude pump wave approximation. The results of numerical simulations by a particle-in-cell method demonstrate that an increase in the amplitude of the parametrically excited waves is accompanied by a decrease in their group velocity; in this case, up to 85% of the laser energy is converted into the energy of the plasma particles. It is found that, under resonance conditions, the magnetic field acts to increase the energy of the accelerated ions that escape from the plasma slab through its front boundary. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc. 2006.