Oscillating two-stream instability of a lower hybrid wave in an inhomogenous plasma

The effect of the density inhomogeneity on the oscillating two-stream instability of a lower hybrid pump wave with a finite wavelength is investigated. The density inhomogeneity introduces dephasing that restricts the interaction region where the matching conditions hold. The loss of energy due to convection from this region introduces a certain convection threshold for the onset of this instability. The coupled differential equations are solved in Fourier space by converting them into an uncoupled eigenvalue equation and then applying a quantization condition. Expressions are obtained for the growth rate and the convective threshold, and the results are applied to the Princeton Large Torus parameters.<
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