Electron cyclotron wave scattering by a probe launched electrostatic ion wave

Summary form only given. Electromagnetic wave scattering in a half-space plasma with a propagating density perturbation and a transverse conducting boundary is considered. An analytical solution of the scattered wave field is obtained from a 1-D model. It is shown that there are two different kinds of scattered waves. One propagates only in the region where the plasma density is perturbed, and its frequency and wave vector satisfy the conditions of a three-wave interaction process. The other mode propagates in the unperturbed plasma at an up-shifted or down-shifted frequency. Experiments have been performed to examine the electron cyclotron wave scattering by the electrostatic ion wave excited by a Langmuir probe disc along the magnetic field line in a mirror machine. The density perturbation and wavefront of the electrostatic ion wave have been measured.