Triple Resonance Phenomenon in Plasmas

Abstract

INTERACTIONS between electromagnetic waves and weakly ionized plasmas in the presence of a steady magnetic field have been widely investigated¹. The Appleton–Hartree formula for the equivalent complex dielectric constant of the plasma is partially reproduced in graphical form in Figs. 1 and 2. These graphs are restricted to the case that the propagation vector and E-polarization of the electromagnetic wave are both perpendicular to the direction of a uniform steady magnetic field. With these restrictions, the relative dielectric constant can be written: in which where ω is the radian frequency of the wave, ν is the collision frequency, ω_b = eB/m is the cyclotron frequency, ω_p = √(ne²/mɛ₀) is the plasma frequency, e and m are the charge and mass of an electron. B is the strength of the steady magnetic field, n is the volume density of free electrons in the plasma, and ɛ₀ is the permittivity of free space. A dependence on time of e^jωt has been assumed.