Alfvén Waves in Solid-State Plasmas

Abstract

Alfvén waves can be studied experimentally in certain solid-state plasmas with greater facility than in gaseous plasmas. This results from the fact that in these solid-state plasmas all the charge carriers have masses equal to or less than the free electron mass. Alfvén waves can thus be studied at microwave frequencies. Previously published experimental results on microwave absorption in bismuth are reinterpreted in terms of the properties of Alfvén waves.