Theory of high-frequency waves in a coaxial plasma wave guide

An analysis of the high-frequency eigenmodes of a coaxial wave guide containing a magnetized annular plasma column is presented. A transcendental equation is derived from the boundary conditions in the form of an eighth-order determinant equated to zero. Simultaneous solution of this determinantal equation and a polynomial equation derived from the wave equation yields the dispersion relations for the eigenmodes. By reduction of the order of the determinant the appropriate transcendental equation is easily obtained for some special cases, e.g., partially filled coaxial wave guide. The electrostatic treatment of a coaxial cylindrical wave guide is also presented. The corresponding transcendental equation is reduced to some special cases, e.g., conventional wave guide containing an annular plasma column under electrostatic approximation. Numerical solutions are obtained for some azimuthally symmetric EH (perturbed TM) and HE (perturbed TE) wave guide modes, cyclotron modes, and space-charge modes. A strong dependence of the frequencies of these electromagnetic-electrostatic waves on the radii of the coaxial wave guide and the plasma column is revealed. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)03509-0].