A new representation of relativistic wave damping above the electron-cyclotron frequency

Abstract

The full relativistic dielectric tensor for a Maxwellian plasma in the electron-cyclotron range of frequencies is investigated. A new representation for arbitrary values of the wave frequency and direction of propagation of the anti-Hermitian part is presented that avoids the standard expansions of the Bessel functions. A compact form of the wave damping for ω ≽ 2ωc is obtained that is useful for the investigation of synchrotron radiation in hot plasmas.