Nonsymmetric Whistler Waves Guided by Cylindrical Ducts with Enhanced Plasma Density

We study the guided propagation of whistler waves whose fields depend on the azimuthal angle in cylindrical plasma-waveguide channels (density ducts) aligned with an external magnetic field and surrounded by a uniform magnetoplasma. The main attention is paid to ducts with enhanced plasma density. It is shown that, under certain conditions, such ducts are capable of guiding proper (eigen) modes and improper leaky modes. We present the results of analysis of the dispersion properties and field structures of nonsymmetric modes guided by cylindrical ducts in the whistler frequency range.     

Whistler channeling in ducts with enhanced density in a magnetoactive plasma

We study the guided propagation of whistler waves along the density ducts created in a magnetoactive plasma under thermal nonlinear conditions. It is found that the thermal diffusion-driven redistribution of plasma due to electron heating in the quasistatic field of a current loop of fairly large radius leads to the formation of a duct with enhanced density. Based on experimental data and theoretical calculations, it is shown that such a duct can sustain the weakly decaying whistler modes excited by a magnetic-type antenna immersed in it. Radiophysical Research Institute, Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 384–394, March, 1998.     

Dispersion properties and field structures of eigenmodes of nonuniform plasma waveguides in a longitudinal magnetic field

We study the field structure and dispersion properties of a hybrid eigenmode guided by a nonuniform magnetized plasma waveguide. It is shown that the rotational and quasi-potential waves contribute to the formation of such a mode in the whistler frequency range. Depending on the plasma density, the rotational component of the hybrid mode is determined by either waves with complex transverse wave numbers or whistler waves, or by true surface waves. In the presence of an axial nonuniformity of the plasma in a channel, the transverse field structure of the propagating mode changes, which is stipulated by changes in both the values of transverse wave numbers and their dependence on the radial coordinate. It is found that the spectrum of axial wave numbers of eigenmodes of a plasma waveguide undergoes a pronounced condensation when smoothing the waveguide walls. The damping of the hybrid mode of a nonuniform waveguide due to electron collisions is found and it is shown that collisional losses determine the damping of waves trapped in the waveguide in the experiments on ionization self-channeling of whistler waves. We have found the effect of “displacing” the strong field from the inner core to the background outer region of the waveguide with increasing plasma density on its axis and broadening background region. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 49, No. 7, pp. 607–617, July 2006.     

Radiation of whistler waves in a magnetized plasma medium in the presence of density ducts

We investigate the influence of density ducts on the radiation of given sources in a magnetoplasma. We obtain the full-wave solution for the problem of radiation from annular electric and magnetic currents in the presence of a plasma column (density duct) oriented along an external magnetic field and surrounded by a uniform background magnetoplasma. Both the discrete part of the spatial spectrum of excited waves and the continuous part of the spectrum are considered. We calculate the total radiated power and partial powers radiated in separate eigenmodes guided by the column. It is established that in the whistler frequency range the presence of a channel with enhanced plasma density can cause a considerable increase in the radiation power of annular sources. We give concrete estimations for the ionospheric conditions and compare these results with the results obtained previously for the case of a uniform magnetoplasma without density ducts.Nizhnii Novgorod University. Tranlated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 37, No. 7, pp. 887–908, July, 1994.     

Cyclotron Wave-Particle Interactions in the Whistler-Mode Waveguide

We study the cyclotron interaction of energetic electrons and whistler waves in plasma waveguides formed by inhomogeneous distribution of cold plasma. Such waveguides can be formed in the Earth's magnetosphere, e.g., by the plasmapause or by ducts with enhanced background-plasma density. In this paper, we consider a cylindrically symmetric model of a magnetospheric duct with enhanced cold-plasma density in a homogeneous magnetic field. The spatial structure of the eigenmodes of such a waveguide is found. We obtain a set of self-consistent quasilinear equations for cyclotron instability with eigenmode structure taken into account, thus generalizing the quasilinear theory of a magnetospheric cyclotron maser.     

Coupled whistler and ion-acoustic mode propagation in two-electron-temperature plasmas

The nonlinear coupling between whistler and ion-acoustic modes in a plasma having bi-Maxwellian distributed electrons is considered. For stationary propagation, the coupled waves lead to a novel nonlinear structure which has a triple-hump profile for the whistler field intensity. In the critical parameter regime (Δ = 3), only supersonic propagation of the coupled modes is allowed. In other regimes, three integrable cases of the coupled mode propagation have been identified.     

Whistler instability in an electron-magnetohydrodynamic spheromak

A three-dimensional magnetic vortex, propagating in the whistler mode, has been produced in a laboratory plasma. Its magnetic energy is converted into electron kinetic energy. Non-Maxwellian electron distributions are formed which give rise to kinetic whistler instabilities. The propagating vortex radiates whistler modes along the ambient magnetic field. A new instability mechanism is proposed.     

Field-reversed configurations in an unmagnetized plasma

An oscillating magnetic field is applied with a loop antenna to an unmagnetized plasma. At small amplitudes the field is evanescent. At large amplitudes the field magnetizes the electrons, which allows deeper field penetration in the whistler modes. Field-reversed configurations are formed at each half cycle. Electrons are energized. Transient whistler instabilities produce high-frequency oscillations in the magnetized plasma volume.     

Laboratory modeling of the interaction of electron beams with a magnetoplasma

We present the results of laboratory experiments in which the mechanisms of interaction of electron beams with whistler waves in a magnetoplasma are studied. Different mechanisms of whistler generation during the injection of a modulated electron beam in the plasma are studied, and the mechanism of conversion of the beam kinetic energy to radiation is demonstrated. The processes of whistler wave generation by the modulated beam at the ˇ Cerenkov and Doppler resonances are analyzed in detail. The excitation of whistler waves by means of a nonresonant mechanism of the transition radiation is studied.     

Dispersion and matching properties of inhomogeneous plasma waveguides

The dispersion characteristics and the field structure of axisymmetric modes channeled by a high-density plasma inhomogeneity stretching along the external magnetic field are determined in the whistler range. The feasibility of matching a small antenna to the background plasma by means of plasma inhomogeneity is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally.Nizhni Novgorod State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 163–172, February, 1991.     

Upconversion of whistler waves by gyrating ion beams in a plasma

A gyrating ion beam, with a ring-shaped distribution in velocity, supports negative energy beam modes near the harmonics of beam gyro-frequency. An investigation of the non-linear interaction of high-frequency whistler waves with the negative energy beam cyclotron mode is made. A non-linear dispersion relation is derived for the coupled modes. It is shown that a gyrating ion-beam frequency upconverts the whistler waves separated by harmonics of beam gyro-frequency. The expression for the growth rate of whistler mode waves has been derived. In Case 1, a high-amplitude whistler wave decays into two lower frequency waves, called a low-frequency mode and a side band of frequency lower than that of pump wave. In Case 2 a high-amplitude whistler wave decays into two lower frequency daughter waves, called the low-frequency mode and whistler waves. Generation mechanism of these waves has application in space and laboratory plasmas.     

General Schrödinger equation for whistler waves propagating along a magnetic field

The general Schrödinger equation (GSE) for whistler waves with their group velocity directed along an external magnetic field is derived. The “mean” wave vector of the wave beam may be parallel to or have an angle Θ = arccos(2ω/ω_c) with the magnetic field. Applications of GSE to the whistler propagation in density ducts are considered. The results are important for the problem of the self-focusing of whistler waves.     

Plasma Maser Theory of Whistler Waves in the Presence of Ion Cyclotron Turbulence

In this paper we consider the plasma maser theory of whistler waves in the presence of ion cyclotron waves in a magnetized plasma. In a plasma with low frequency ion cyclotron turbulence and a high frequency test whistler wave, growth of the whistler wave takes place because of the turbulent bremsstrahlung interaction between the resonant electrons and the modulated electric fields. The growth rate of the whistler wave is calculated and the results discussed.     

Effect of Temperature Anisotropy on Various Modes and Instabilities for a Magnetized Non-relativistic Bi-Maxwellian Plasma

Using kinetic theory for homogeneous collisionless magnetized plasmas, we present an extended review of the plasma waves and instabilities and discuss the anisotropic response of generalized relativistic dielectric tensor and Onsager symmetry properties for arbitrary distribution functions. In general, we observe that for such plasmas only those modes whose magnetic-field perturbations are perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field, i.e., B ₁ $\bot $ B ₀, are effected by the anisotropy. However, in oblique propagation all modes do show such anisotropic effects. Considering the non-relativistic bi-Maxwellian distribution and studying the relevant components of the general dielectric tensor under appropriate conditions, we derive the dispersion relations for various modes and instabilities. We show that only the electromagnetic R- and L- waves, those derived from them (i.e., the whistler mode, pure Alfvén mode, firehose instability, and whistler instability), and the O-mode are affected by thermal anisotropies, since they satisfy the required condition $\mathbf{B}_{1}\bot \mathbf{B}_{0}$ . By contrast, the perpendicularly propagating X-mode and the modes derived from it (the pure transverse X-mode and Bernstein mode) show no such effect. In general, we note that the thermal anisotropy modifies the parallel propagating modes via the parallel acoustic effect, while it modifies the perpendicular propagating modes via the Larmor-radius effect. In oblique propagation for kinetic Alfvén waves, the thermal anisotropy affects the kinetic regime more than it affects the inertial regime. The generalized fast mode exhibits two distinct acoustic effects, one in the direction parallel to the ambient magnetic field and the other in the direction perpendicular to it. In the fast-mode instability, the magneto-sonic wave causes suppression of the firehose instability. We discuss all these propagation characteristics and present graphic illustrations. The threshold conditions for different instabilities are also obtained.     

Compression of whistler waves in a plasma with a nonstationary magnetic field

We present the results of our experiments in which the propagation of whistler waves in a plasma with a nonstationary magnetic-field perturbation (B=B₀+δB(t), δB/B₀ ≤ 5%) was investigated. The parametric and dispersive phenomena in a variable magnetic field were studied on the unique Krot plasma bench (the plasma column was 4 m in length and 1.5 m in diameter). A periodic field perturbation is shown to lead to an amplitude-frequency modulation of the whistler wave and to fragmentation of the signal into separate frequency-modulated wavepackets followed by their compression. The formation and compression of pulses is attributable to strong whistler group-velocity dispersion near the electron cyclotron frequency (ω ≤ ω_H). The results can be used to interpret the spectral shapes of the signals received from the Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere in the electron and ion whistler frequency ranges.     

Generation of whistler mode in a relativistic plasma

This paper contains the plasma maser interaction between high frequency nonresonant whistler R-mode and low frequency resonant ion acoustic mode in a relativistic plasma. It shows that the whistler R-mode grows through the plasma maser interaction between the relativistic electrons and the ion acoustic fluctuation.      

Theory of Jovian Kilometric Radiation

This report presents a theoretical model of extraordinary mode radiation in presence of low frequency whistler mode. We show that the generation mechanism of extraordinary mode emission in the presence of whistler mode is based on the plasma maser theory. Application of theoretical results to Jovian Kilometric radiation is examined.     

Guided modes in asymmetric metal-cladding left-handed material waveguides

We investigate guided modes in the asymmetric waveguide structure with a left-handed material (LHM) layer surrounded by air and metal. A graphical method is proposed to determine the guided modes. New properties of the oscillating and surface guided modes, such as absence of the fundamental mode, coexistence of the oscillating and surface guided modes, fast attenuation of the surface guided modes, and mode degeneracy, are analyzed in detail. We also investigate dispersive characteristics of the metal-LHM- air optical waveguide. The propagation constant increases with decreasing slab thickness for the first-order oscillating mode, which is different from that in traditional metal-cladding waveguides.     

Comparing mechanical analysis with generalized-competitive-mode analysis for the plasma chaotic system

The plasma chaotic system is a dissipative dynamical system modeled by a parametric plasma instability arising from the interaction of the whistler and ion acoustic waves with the plasma oscillation near the lower hybrid resonance. The amplitudes of these three oscillations obey a three-dimensional system of ordinary differential equations that exhibits chaos for certain parameter values. Besides the maximal Lyapunov exponent technique, a generalized-competitive-mode (GCM) technique has been proposed to evaluate parameter values associated with chaos. A mechanical analysis has also been proposed to reveal the mechanisms underlying the different dynamical modes including chaos. In a series of comparisons between the GCM analysis and mechanical analysis, chaos for the plasma chaotic system is determined. The mechanism and causes by which the plasma chaotic system produces different dynamical behaviors are interpreted. Furthermore, using the whistler-parameter variation of the Casimir function and Casimir power for the plasma system, the generating mechanisms of the different orbital modes and the different levels of chaos are uncovered.     

The effect of plasma drift on the electromagnetic cyclotron instability

It is shown that the drift of plasma across a homogeneous magnetic field causes the generation of a wave electric field which, for waves propagating along the magnetic field in the whistler mode, is in the direction of the magnetic field. This leads to Landau damping of the wave field by the background electron distribution, simultaneously with amplification via the electromagnetic cyclotron instability. The drift velocity of the plasma for zero net growth of a whistler mode signal is calculated. It is suggested that such a process occurs in the equatorial region of the magnetosphere during a geomagnetic storm and accounts for the missing band of emissions at half the equatorial gyrofrequency.