Propagation and Damping of Nonlinear Plasma Wave Packets

Nonlinear electron plasma wave packets are shown to locally damp at the rear of the packet. Resonant particles enter the back of the packet and linearly damp the first few wavelengths, thereby carrying energy away from the back edge and eventually eroding the packet. This process could significantly affect the recurrence and long-time behavior of stimulated Raman scattering because it is predicted that a nonlinear packet will erode away before it travels a speckle length. The effects of a density gradient on the packet's propagation are also discussed.