The ion heating mechanism in the context of laser interacting with plasma immersed in a strong magnetic field is studied. The electron motion transverse to the magnetic field gets restricted, and it acquires comparatively less energy than the ions. The magnetic field is chosen to be strong for laser electromagnetic field propagation inside the plasma to be governed by the magnetized dispersion relation. Both X and RL mode configurations have been studied in detail using Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations. It is shown that the energy absorption process is governed by a resonant mechanism wherein the laser frequency matches with an underlying mode in the plasma. For X and RL mode configurations, these correspond to lower hybrid and ion cyclotron resonance, respectively. The absorption, however, is found to be most efficient at frequencies close to but not exactly matching with the resonance frequency. An understanding of the same has been provided. The role of laser polarization has been studied in detail.

The harmonic generation has always been of fundamental interest in studying the nonlinear nature of any physical system. In the present study, Particle - In - Cell (PIC) simulations have been carried out to explore the harmonic generation of Electromagnetic waves in a magnetized plasma. The EM wave propagation is chosen to be parallel to the applied external magnetic field. The simulations show the excitation of odd higher harmonics of RCP (Right circularly polarized) and LCP (Left circularly polarized) when the incident wave is linearly polarised. The harmonic generation is maximum when the incident EM wave frequency matches the electron cyclotron frequency. When the incident EM wave has a circular polarization, no harmonics get excited. A theoretical understanding of these observations has also been provided. The studies thus show that by appropriately tailoring of plasma parameters EM waves of higher frequencies and desired nature of circular polarization can be generated.