Plane Wave Interaction with an Inhomogeneous Warm Plasma Column

The interaction of a plane electromagnetic wave with an inhomogeneous warm plasma column is studied as a boundary value problem using a wave matching method. The plasma is characterized by a uniform electron temperature T and a parabolic density distribution N00 (1 − αr2/α2), where N00 is the central line density, α the inhomogeneity parameter, and a the column radius. The coupled Maxwell's and first two moment equations, assuming scalar pressure, are solved numerically without the quasi-static assumption. The resonances cannot be characterized by a single parameter; the effects of α, T, and N00 are studied separately. The resonances are located by noting that the magnitude of the scattering coefficient is unity (for a unit amplitude incident wave) at resonance. The maxima in the scattering are associated with the maxima in the coupling.It is found that the dielectric or the main resonance is a reasonably good radiator, while the plasma wave resonances (Tonks–Dattner resonances) are rather poor radiators. A detailed analysis of the radial electric field inside the plasma indicates that the main resonance is essentially a cold plasma resonance. As for the resonant frequencies, our results are in good agreement with those of Parker, Nickel, and Gould.The radial electric field at resonance inside the plasma is very sensitive to electron temperature.For the main resonance the field distribution at low electron temperature approaches that of a uniform cold plasma at resonance.