Nonlinear evolution of the modulational instability of whistler waves

Abstract
The nonlinear evolution of the modulational instability of whistler waves coupled to fast magnetosonic waves is investigated in two spatial dimensions by numerical simulations. The long time evolution of the modulational instability shows a quasirecurrent behavior with a slow spreading of the energy, originally confined to the lowest wave numbers, to larger and larger wave numbers resulting in an apparently chaotic or random wave field.