Propagation of finite amplitude disturbances in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma

The evolution of electromagnetic waves injected from the boundary in a inhomogeneous magnetized collisionless plasma is investigated by means of a kinetic numerical code. The Harris pinch magnetic configuration as the background eq uilibrium configuration for wave propagation is used. The numerical code solves the Vlasov equation for ions and electrons in the 1D - 2V phase space, self consistently coupled to the Ampere and to the Faraday equations. The external magnetic field is transverse to the w ave propagation direction. Open boundary conditions are used to inject the waves from outside at a given frequency, while the wavelength is selected self-consistently by the system .