Stimulated Raman backscattering in a magnetized plasma

The parametric decay of an intense electromagnetic (pump) wave into a back-scattered electromagnetic wave and an electron plasma wave is considered. The dispersion relation for a homogeneous magnetized plasma in the presence of the pump wave is developed in the cold-plasma approximation with the pump frequency large compared to the cyclotron and plasma frequencies. Formulae are derived for the growth rate γ and threshold power P_T associated with the instability. The effects of the magnitude and direction of the static magnetic field on γ and P_T are studied numerically.