NONLINEAR LANDAU DAMPING

We present a new description of nonlinear Landau damping, applicable t o wave propagation in a weakly collisional as well as a collisionless plasma. We derive a set of equations with a simple energy conservation law which is useful for understanding the evolution of the system. A numerical investigation shows significant differences as compared to p revious studies. The reasons for the deviations from the earlier resul ts are explained.