Study of RF waves on plasma

Abstract

The interaction of radio frequency waves as it propagates through a plasma medium – has fascinated the plasma physicists for decades. The ionosphere is crucial for radio wave propagation. Short radio waves reflect from the F-layer and spread over long distances (up to two-three thousand kilometers) due to a high altitude of the layer. Long and medium radio waves propagate in the E- and D-layers. The anisotropy of ionospheric plasma due to the Earth's magnetic field accounts for the presence of two radio wave components, ordinary (O-mode) and extraordinary (X-mode). Powerful, high-frequency (HF) radio waves can be used to temporarily modify the ionosphere. These controlled, active experiments have proven useful both for studies of the natural upper atmosphere through observations of the ionospheric response to HF-induced perturbations, and for basic physics investigations exploiting the ionosphere as a large, natural plasma laboratory-without-walls. Here, we study these wonderful aspects through a student project.