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Stimulated Raman scattering in the degenerate regime

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in plasma in the degenerate regime is studied theoretically and numerically. Different from normal SRS with the non-degenerate eigen electrostatic mode excited, the degenerate SRS is developed at plasma density $n_e>0.25n_c$ when the laser amplitude is larger than a certain threshold. To satisfy the phase-matching conditions of frequency and wavenumber, the excited electrostatic mode has a constant frequency around half of the incident light frequency $ω_0/2$, which is no longer the non-degenerate eigenmode of electron plasma wave $ω_{pe}$. Both the scattered light and the electrostatic wave are trapped in plasma with their group velocities being zero. Super hot electrons are produced by the degenerate electrostatic wave. Our theoretical model is validated by particle-in-cell simulations. The SRS driven in this degenerate regime is an important laser energy loss mechanism in the laser plasma interactions as long as the laser intensity is higher than $10^{15}$W/cm$^2$.