Autoresonance of coupled nonlinear waves

Resonant three-wave interactions (R3WIs) and their dynamical counterpart, three-oscillator interactions (R3OIs) play a fundamental role in many fields of physics. Consequently, controlling R3WI/R3OIs is an important goal of both basic and applied physics research. We have developed new control schemes based on a recent approach of wave autoresonance. This approach is based on the intrinsic property of many nonlinear waves and oscillations to stay in resonance (phase-lock) even when parameters of the system vary in time and/or space.We review autoresonance in several new coupled wave systems including externally driven R3OI systems and multidimensional R3WIs. Particularly, we have focused on autoresonant stimulated Raman scattering in nonuniform plasmas. This research comprises an important step toward understanding of adiabatic synchronization of nonlinear waves in space-time varying media with a potential of many new applications in plasma physics and related fields, such as fluid dynamics, nonlinear optics, and acoustics.