Nonlinear evolution of a relativistically strong electromagnetic wave in the self-created electron-positron plasma

摘要

The nonlineax interaction between the electron-positron pairs produced by an electromagnetic wave in plasma and the wave leads to damping of the wave, frequency upshift, change of polarization and particle acceleration. The case of a circularly polarized wave is investigated in the framework of the relativistic Vlasov equation with a source term based on the Schwinger formula for the pair creation rate.