On the stability of self-consistent large-amplitude waves in a cold plasma. Part 3. Transverse circularly polarized waves in the presence of a large-scale magnetic field

Abstract

We demonstrate that a self-consistent large-amplitude circularly polarized wave, propagating in a cold plasma in the presence of a large-scale magnetic field, is unstable if the constant bulk streaming speed of the plasma is zero in the frame in which the wave depends oniy on time. The growth rate is of the order of the plasma frequency or the gyrofrequency at short perturbation wavelengths, and is proportional to the perturbation wave vector at long wavelengths. For nonzero but small streaming the instability rate increases for one streaming direction and decreases for the other. We conclude that instability is the rule rather than the exception for large-amplitude waves in a cold plasma.