2 research outputs found
Resonant interaction between gravitational waves, electromagnetic waves and plasma flows
In magnetized plasmas gravitational and electromagnetic waves may interact
coherently and exchange energy between themselves and with plasma flows. We
derive the wave interaction equations for these processes in the case of waves
propagating perpendicular or parallel to the plasma background magnetic field.
In the latter case, the electromagnetic waves are taken to be circularly
polarized waves of arbitrary amplitude. We allow for a background drift flow of
the plasma components which increases the number of possible evolution
scenarios. The interaction equations are solved analytically and the
characteristic time scales for conversion between gravitational and
electromagnetic waves are found. In particular, it is shown that in the
presence of a drift flow there are explosive instabilities resulting in the
generation of gravitational and electromagnetic waves. Conversely, we show that
energetic waves can interact to accelerate particles and thereby \emph{produce}
a drift flow. The relevance of these results for astrophysical and cosmological
plasmas is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, typos corrected and numerical example adde