Mode conversion and transmission in spatially cyclic fields

Abstract

In a cold plasma, the 0 and X modes are determined by the orientation of the first-order electromagnetic fields with respect to the equilibrium magnetic field B0. In the particular case where the direction of B0 is a function of position the distinction between these types of waves is lost. In this paper, two semi-infinite regions of homogeneous cold plasma are connected by a finite zone in which the equilibrium magnetic field has a spatially periodic shear. This system is studied self-consistently to reveal the mode-con version and transmission characteristics of plasmas containing field structures of this kind, and preliminary calculations of the full coefficients are presented. The results thus obtained are directly relevant to situations where magnetic shear is important.