A PHYSICAL MODEL OF CYCLOTRON DAMPING,
Abstract
Consideration is given to the phenomenon of cyclotron damping (or growth) of an electromagnetic wave propagating parallel to an external magnetic field in a fully ionized plasma (e.g., in the whistler mode). The basic intent is to give a derivation of the damping (or growth) rate of the wave that is based on a physical model that yields insight into the origin of the phenomenon. Cyclotron damping is governed by the energy exchange between the wave and those particles that feel the wave doppler-shifted in frequency to their own cyclotron frequency. Further, the phenomenon is asymptotic in time in the sense that, within the framework of linear theory, a dispersion relation between frequency and wave number and a damping (or growth) rate exist for these waves only as t approaches infinity. The asymptotic behavior is discussed in the context of the suggested model, and an estimate of how long one must wait before the asymptotic solutions are valid, as well as the usual linearized results, is obtained. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0653926
Entities
People
- R. F. Lutomirski
Organizations
- RAND Corporation