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Effect of finite spectral width on the modulational instability of Langmuir waves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

J. C. Bhakta
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Calcutta, 92 A. P. C. Road, Calcutta-700009, India
D. Majumder
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Nara Sinha Dutt College, Howrah, India

Abstract

The effect of finite spectral width on the modulational instability of Langmuir waves has been investigated applying a method developed by Alber to derive a transport equation for the spectral density. The numerical results presented show that the spectrum is stable against modulational perturbation when the spectral width exceeds some critical value. For a Gaussian spectrum, the maximum growth rate is less than that for a monochromatic wave but the domain of modulational instability is extended. For a uniform distribution the shift in the growth rate curve towards the region of shorter wavelength is more pronounced and, for a certain range of spectral width, the maximum growth rate exceeds that for a monochromatic wave.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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