Shape-dependent effects on an electromagnetic pulse propagating in a lossy plasma

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Abstract
We develop a theory describing the propagation of an electromagnetic pulse propagating in one dimension through a medium of essentially arbitrary conductivity and polarizability. An integral solution for the pulse amplitude is obtained by means of the slowly varying envelope approximation. Within the limits of this approximation (which requires linear coupling of the pulse to the medium, smooth variation of the pulse envelope, and pulse widths large enough to contain many cycles of the pulse carrier frequency), our solution is quite general, and it allows relatively easy comparison of the evolution of various pulse shapes as they travel through the medium. We apply the theory to an analysis of a pulse propagating in a lossy plasma, and show that among pulses with similar initial widths and energies, the initial pulse shape can have significant effects on the subsequent pulse distortion, broadening, and energy transport. Specifically, for a lossy plasma, we find that the pulse energy transport is enhanced for pulses which are initially well localized about a central maximum.

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