Energy flow and absorption along resonance cones near the lower hybrid

Abstract

Macroscopic and microscopic forms of the energy conservation theorem for quasi-static waves are applied to determine the approximate power flux density and rate of energy absorption along the resonance cones near the lower hybrid resonance, both for the incoming cone and the outgoing converted ion thermal cone. It is found that for the incoming cone excited by a point gap source, there is almost as much power flux and absorption along each of the first few secondary peaks as along the main peak, so that the channel along which most of the energy flow and absorption occurs extends the width of several peaks of the cone. On the outgoing cone, the power flow and absorption is more concentrated on the main peaks than for the incoming cone. Nonlinear ponderomotive force effects are found to be more important, in general, for this cone than the incoming cone unless substantial absorption occurs in the mode conversion region. An asymptotic relationship is found connecting the power absorbed to the power flux and the spatial damping rate of the potential of the resonance cones.