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Laboratory observation of a nonlinear interaction between shear Alfvén waves

T. A. Carter·B. Brugman·P. Pribyl·W. Lybarger
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Abstract

An experimental investigation of nonlinear interactions between shear Alfvén waves in a laboratory plasma is presented. Two Alfvén waves, generated by a resonant cavity, are observed to beat together, driving a low frequency nonlinear psuedo-mode at the beat frequency. The psuedo-mode then scatters the Alfvén waves, generating a series of sidebands. The observed interaction is very strong, with the normalized amplitude of the driven psuedo-mode comparable to the normalized magnetic field amplitude ($δB/B$) of the interacting Alfvén waves.

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T. A. Carter, B. Brugman, P. Pribyl, W. Lybarger. 2005-09-22. Laboratory observation of a nonlinear interaction between shear Alfvén waves. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.155001

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