RELATIVISTIC EFFECT ON ELECTROMAGNETIC-WAVE PROPAGATION THROUGH PLASMA WAVE-GUIDE

Propagation of electromagnetic waves through a rectangular waveguide filled with a collision dominated isotropic plasma is discussed where the relativistic movement of plasma medium has been taken into consideration. From characteristic equations, the dispersion relations and cut off frequency for appropriate modes are studied. The fields existing inside the waveguide are also derived. The dispersion relation and cut off frequency for both T E and T M modes are found to depend upon waveguide dimensions, plasma parameters and drift velocity of plasma medium. The simplified case with no collision is also discussed. It is concluded that plasma behaves as a non-dispersive medium when its drift velocity approaches theoretically the velocity of light.