TURBULIZATION OF NONLINEAR LANGMUIR OSCILLATIONS IN A COLD-PLASMA

It is shown that the electric field of Langmuir oscillations in a cold plasma contains a component, independent of time, setting ions in mot ion. Using Lagrange variables, one-dimensional dynamics of plasma in r espect to the interaction between electron oscillations and ion moveme nt is investigated. As a consequence of this interaction, the crossing of electron trajectories occurs even at small amplitudes at time t(c) , i.e., one-dimensional turbulence appears in the system. The expressi on for t(c) is derived. In time t(c) ion displacements as well as ion energy are found to depend only on the electron-ion mass relationship. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.