Reflection and absorption of electromagnetic waves obliquely incident on a half‐space relativistic plasma

• Published in: The Physics of fluids (1958) 1980-08, Vol.23 (8), p.1566-1573
• Main Authors: Imre, Kaya, Özizmir, Ercüment
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0031-9171; 2163-4998
• DOI: 10.1063/1.863169

Reflection and absorption characteristics of electromagnetic waves obliquely incident upon a half‐space relativistic Vlasov plasma are investigated. Numerical results comparing the properties of the s‐ and p‐polarized waves are given. It is shown that the response of plasma can be best understood by studying the locations of the roots κ t and κ l of the transversal and longitudinal dispersion functions in the complex wavenumber plane. In general, s‐polarized waves are reflected and p‐polarized waves are absorbed more efficiently by the plasma. Total reflection occurs when κ t becomes zero for the case of s‐polarization and when κ l becomes zero for the case of p‐polarization. Total penetration of p‐waves is obtained for sufficiently large frequencies at the Brewster angle ϑ B . These waves exhibit a sharp absorption peak at the characteristic angle ϑ c at which the transversal transmission terminates. For a given temperature, p‐waves are totally absorbed in the plasma at a specific frequency at which ϑ B =ϑ c . Absorption peaks are broader at higher temperatures. If both transversal and longitudinal modes propagate undamped at some value of angle of incidence ϑ, there exists a secondary smooth and broad absorption peak at larger values of ϑ for the p‐waves. The magnitude of the secondary peak can also be appreciable at the ultrarelativistic temperatures.