Abstract
The paper presents a paraxial-ray theory of self-defocusing of obliquely propagating Trivelpiece-Gould (TG) modes in a homogeneous plasma. The TG mode with Gaussian distribution of intensity, in a direction perpendicular to its phase velocity, creates a ponderomotive force on electrons. The electrons are redistributed through ambipolar diffusion. The redistributed electrons are responsible for defocusing of the TG mode. The importance of our study is pointed out.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)