Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2015
The nonlinear propagation of high power microwave beam in unmagnetized collisional plasma is studied taking into account the ponderomotive force, space charge and Ohmic heating effects. It is shown that the amplitude of electron temperature distribution is enhanced by increasing the microwave energy flux, and decreases when the microwave frequency increases. It is also demonstrated that the steepening of the electron density distribution increases when the amplitude of electron temperature profiles reduces and vice versa. Furthermore, by increasing the initial electron density, the amplitude and number of peaks are decreased, but the electron density distribution, the space charge field and the dielectric permittivity profiles are increased.