THE NONLINEAR INTERACTION OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE WITH A TIME-DEPENDENT PLASMA MEDIUM.

Abstract

A one-dimensional, inhomogeneous model is used to describe the nonlinear interaction of a radiofrequency plane wave with a time-varying plasma medium. A nonlinear constitutive relationship is derived relating the macroscopic-current density to the impressed electric vector, assuming that the wave field is almost monochromatic in the medium. The time-dependent response of the plasma medium may be found by numerically solving the energy-balance equations and the continuity equation for the electron gas. The electron temperature is expressed in the form of a difference equation where the effects of the thermal conductivity of the electron gas may be included. The spread in frequency of the electromagnetic wave field due to the time-varying electrical conductivity may be computed by employing the WKB approximation as a solution to the wave equation for a time-varying medium. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1964
Accession Number
AD0601669

Entities

People

  • Robert J. Papa

Organizations

  • Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Conductivity
  • Current Density
  • Difference Equations
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Electron Gas
  • Electrons
  • Equations
  • Frequency
  • Plane Waves
  • Radio Frequency
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Wave Equations
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics