NONLINEAR TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLASMA SHEATH
Abstract
A model is constructed of a nonlinear, one dimensional inhomogeneous multicomponent plasma slab which has the characteristics of the plasma sheath surrounding a typical hypersonic re-entry vehicle at 200,000 ft while traveling at about 18,000 ft/second. A plane wave incident upon the slab at arbitrary angle can induce changes in electron temperature without affecting the neutral gas temperature. The variations of electron temperature produce changes in collision frequency and the rate coefficients describing the various electron production and loss mechanisms. Such changes cause alterations in the effective dielectric constant of the medium. On the basis of a model of a plane-layered medium composed of a stack of linear homogeneous sheets, the reflection and transmission coefficients of the nonlinear slab may be computed by a step-by-step numerical integration of Maxwell's equations expressed in the form of difference equations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0407089
Entities
People
- Robert J. Papa
Organizations
- Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories