Surface wave propagation along a current-carrying warm plasma column

Abstract

The propagation of high-frequency surface waves along a plasma column was investigated theoretically and experimentally. From the equations of one-fluid hydrodynamics, expressions were obtained in a quasistatic approximation for the dispersion of axially symmetric and dipole modes of high-frequency surface waves, propagating along a current-carrying warm plasma surrounded by dielectric and a vacuum. The detailed experimental investigations of the dispersion and the space damping rate of the surface waves in a neon gas discharge plasma, realized on the basis of the phase shift measurements of the applied and accepted signals and by using a time-space diagram method, was effected at different discharge currents and gas pressures in a wide frequency range and showed very good agreement with the theoretical results.