Wave Propagation along a Magnetic Field in a Warm Plasma

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Abstract
The steady-state properties of circularly polarized electromagnetic waves propagating along a static magnetic field in a warm uniform plasma are considered. The coupled Maxwell-Boltzmann equations (with ion dynamics neglected) are solved in the presence of short-range collisions. Expressions for the reflection and penetration of the waves into a semi-infinite plasma are obtained. These expressions are explicitly evaluated and discussed for a wide range of physical parameters. The temperature effects are large only (1) deep within the plasma and (2) near electron cyclotron resonance. The effect of temperature is to decrease reflection at frequencies just above the cyclotron frequency and to increase it for frequencies just below the cyclotron frequency. These effects arise from a resonance damping additional to collisional damping and from an upward shift in the effective cyclotron frequency of the hot electron. For frequencies just above the cyclotron frequency, the Poynting's vector in the plasma does not decrease monotonically with distance. The physical origin of this anomalous behavior is discussed.

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