The radiating regime of Lagrangian frame two-plasmon decay

The two-plasmon decay instability in an abruptly bounded plasma, one for which all wavelengths are large compared with the plasma density gradient scale length, is investigated for p-polarized radiation in the absence of surface waves. Spatially dependent growth rate profiles and spatially dependent transit layer magnetic fields due to non-linear surface currents are reported. When the perturbation wave number parallel to the boundary is less than the pump frequency divided by twice the speed of light, energy radiates from the plasma boundary. It is proposed that these emissions may serve as an experimental signature for this mode. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics