NONLINEAR DYNAMICS OF A BEAM-DRIVEN MAGNETIC PLASMA - STREAMING OR MASS MOTION

Explicit results pertaining to nonlinear oscillations in a magnetoacti ve beam-plasma system that shows transient or streaming phenomena are analytically presented. The nonlinear differential equation is formula ted and solved in terms of a modified elliptic integral of motion. The phase-space mappings, and their striking features both in strong stre aming and nonstreaming situations, are shown. The new features concern ing streaming plasma analysis are illustrated in the form of frequency modulation, especially at the onset of chaos. The diminishing trend o f modulated frequency in the strong streaming regions is concluded. Th e findings may have important implications for magnetospheric and cosm ic plasma settings where beam plasma interactions exist. (C) 1997 Amer ican Institute of Physics.