Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
Propagation and damping of nonlinear plasma wave packets
J E Fahlen1, B J Winjum, T Grismayer
1Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. jfahlen@ucla.edu
Abstract:
Nonlinear electron plasma wave packets are shown to locally damp at the rear of the packet. Resonant particles enter the back of the packet and linearly damp the first few wavelengths, thereby carrying energy away from the back edge and eventually eroding the packet. This process could significantly affect the recurrence and long-time behavior of stimulated Raman scattering because it is predicted that a nonlinear packet will erode away before it travels a speckle length. The effects of a density gradient on the packet's propagation are also discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Propagation of Waves
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves
Types of Damping
Travelling Waves
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Standing Waves in a Cavity
Damped Oscillations
Although friction and other non-conservative...

