Growth of high-power laser ripple in plasma and its effect on plasma wave excitation: Relativistic effects

In the present investigation, the growth of a radially symmetric ripple, superimposed on a single intense laser beam in a collisionless unmagnetized plasma, taking into account the relativistic nonlinearity, is presented. The effect of the position and the width of the ripple on its growth have been studied in some detail. In addition to the growth of the ripple, the effect of the presence of the ripple on the excitation of plasma wave has also been studied.