Parametric absorption of lower hybrid waves in a nonuniform magnetized plasma

A kinetic theory of fluctuations in a nonuniform magnetized plasma in an ex ternal electric field is developed. The RF power absorbed in the plasma in the lower hybrid (LH) frequency range under conditions characteristic of th e parametric decay of the pump LH wave into the daughter LPI wave and elect ron-drift modes is determined. It is shown that, for the parameters typical of a thermonuclear plasma, the absorption length is comparable with the pl asma size, which leads to the efficient dissipation of the RF power.