Nonlinear plasma maser driven by electron beam instability

The detailed analysis of plasma maser interaction between high-frequency electromagnetic waves with right-handed polarization (R mode) and electrostatic Langmuir waves excited by an electron beam is presented. The analysis shows that generation of R-mode radiation near 2 omega(pe) is possible only for magnetized plasmas; here omega(pe) is the electron plasma frequency. Simulations using a two-dimensional electromagnetic and relativistic particle code show that high-frequency electromagnetic waves with right-handed polarization (R mode) can be generated by a plasma maser mechanism from electrostatic Langmuir waves excited by an electron beam. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)04003-3].