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Dispersion of electron Bernstein waves including weakly relativistic and electromagnetic effects. Part 1. Ordinary modes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2009
Abstract
Ordinary solutions of the weakly relativistic, electromagnetic dispersion relation are investigated for waves propagating perpendicular to a uniform magnetic field in a Maxwellian plasma. Weakly relativistic resonance broadening, frequency downshift and damping are found to alter dramatically the dispersion predicted by the corresponding strictly non-relativistic (‘classical’) theory in the neighbourhood of harmonics of the cyclotron frequency Ωe. All classical resonances and cut-offs are removed except the cut-off at the plasma frequency ωp. At frequencies above ωp the infinite family of classically predicted modes is replaced by a single weakly damped mode whose dispersion differs only slightly from that predicted by cold plasma theory. No weakly damped modes exist in the range of harmonics s satisfying (ωp/Ωe)⅔/8 ≲ S < Ωp/Ωe, however, one such mode is located immediately below each harmonic for s ≲ (ωp/Ωe)⅔/8. A companion paper investigates extraordinary solutions of the dispersion relation.
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987
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