High-frequency heating of plasma with two ion species

Abstract

The authors consider the penetration of electromagnetic waves with a frequency of the order of the ion cyclotron frequencies and with a fixed longitudinal wave number k||, so that N|| = k||cω ≫ 1 deep into an inhomogeneous plasma with two ion species. The propagation of two kinds of waves (fast and slow) with widely differing polarization and transverse refraction index is possible. For both types of waves there is an evanesence region at the plasma periphery.