Whistler wave radiation from a loop antenna located in a cylindrical density depletion

Abstract

Electromagnetic radiation from sources in a magnetoplasma containing a radially nonuniform cylindrical density depletion is considered. Using a rigorous solution for the total field comprising both the discrete and continuous parts of the spatial spectrum of excited waves, the radiation resistance of a loop antenna and the efficiency of excitation of different modes by such a source are determined in the whistler range. Based on the numerical results, conditions are revealed under which the power radiated from a loop antenna located in a density depletion is dominated by the contribution of either discrete- or continuous-spectrum modes. It is found that the radiation resistance of the loop antenna in a weakly nonuniform density depletion can be notably greater than that in a homogeneous magnetoplasma whose parameters coincide with those near the depletion axis. The results are relevant to the basic properties of whistler wave excitation in the presence of field-aligned plasma density irregularities and can be useful for wave diagnostics in laboratory and space plasmas. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.