Anomalous absorption of ordinary electromagnetic waves in magnetized plasmas

Ordinary electromagnetic waves can be employed to heat electrons in magnetized plasmas through parametric instabilities if the power level exceeds a certain threshold. Around the electron cyclotron second harmonic frequency band, ordinary waves can decay into upper hybrid waves and other ordinary waves with lower frequency and wavenumber. Depending on the pump wavelength and power, both forward and backward scattering processes can take place. The decay waves ultimately fed energy into electrons through turbulent heating. Only bulk heating has been observed in the simulation.