Electron non-linearities in Langmuir waves with application to beat-wave experiments

Non-linear Langmuir waves are examined in the context of the beat-wave accelerator. With a background of immobile ions the waves in one dimension are subject to the relativistic non-linearity of Rosenbluth, M.N. and Liu, C.S., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1972, 29, 701. In two or three dimensions, other electron non-linearities occur which involve electric and magnetic fields. The quasi-linear equations for these non-linearities are developed and solved numerically in a geometry representative of laser-driven beat waves. (author)