The phase mixing of an upper hybrid wave in a magnetized pair-ion plasma

The space–time evolution of the electrostatic normal modes (namely, the cyclotron and upper hybrid modes) of a warm pair-ion plasma is studied in the presence of a constant magnetic field. By introducing a phase lag between the density perturbations of positive and negative ions, the nonlinear interaction between these two electrostatic modes is shown. A nonlinear analysis of the basic fluid Maxwell equations based on a perturbative approach shows that excited upper hybrid waves can phase mix away and consequently break at arbitrarily low amplitudes. The phase mixing time is found to increase as the strength of the external magnetic field is enhanced. The results of our investigation are believed to be applicable to laboratory-produced electron–positron and paired fullerene-ion plasmas. (paper)