FARADAY ROTATION CONCEPTS IN HOMOGENEOUS ANISOTROPIC MEDIA USING THE ROOTS OF THE BOOKER QUARTIC.
Abstract
A theoretical investigation is made of a possible method for calculating the apparent Faraday rotation of high frequency electromagnetic waves in a generalized ionosphere (anisotropic, including collisions). The method depends on the assumption that the W. K. B. solutions of the wave equations are valid. In the cases where this may not be entirely correct, a refinement in the approach is suggested. This is the addition of reflections at stratified layers which are commonly used to approximate a variable ionosphere that changes in the vertical direction only. The roots of the Booker quartic are used throughout this work in order to produce a generalized scheme for describing apparent Faraday rotation of plane waves in horizontal planes parallel to the assumed stratifications of the ionosphere. This procedure does not yield a direct relationship between electron density and Faraday rotation rate as is commonly used. The assumption is made that closed form equations are not necessary, since computer computation using iterative techniques are readily available. The analytical approach suggested here should lead to a test of accuracy of more simplified methods such as those that assume line of sight propagation and the validity of the longitudinal approximation to the refractive index calculations. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 15, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0691338
Entities
People
- Myung Ki Lee
Organizations
- Pennsylvania State University