Boundary value problems involving dielectric and compressible plasma media are considered. The geometrical configurations are idealized to the extent that Maxwell's equations, when combined with continuum theory of fluid dynamics, are separable. The specific problems considered are motivated by a need to understand radiation of sources immersed in compressible isotropic ionized media. Various results for cold plasma configurations are recovered when the (electron) acoustic velocity is allowed to approach zero. Some attention is given to phenomena related to the resonance in the dielectric cavity which contains the sources. In particular, it is shown that the resonant conditions are modified appreciably by the finite compressibility of the surrounding plasma.
IMA8 – Interfacial Fluid Dynamics and Processes
