Studies of Ion Acoustic Decay

In this project, we advanced knowledge of Ion Acoustic Decay on several fronts. In this project, we have developed and demonstrated the capability to perform experimental and theoretical studies of the Ion Acoustic Decay Instability. We have at the same time demonstrated an improved capability to do multichannel spectroscopy and Thomson scattering. We made the first observations of the time-resolved second harmonic emission at several angles simultaneously, and the first observations of the emission both parallel and perpendicular to the electric field of the laser light. We used Thomson scattering to make the first observations of the plasma waves driven by acoustic decay in a warm plasma with long density scale lengths. We also advanced both the linear and the nonlinear theory of this instability. We are thus prepared to perform experiments to address this mechanism as needed for applications