Superphase velocity effects caused by a single electron in a magnetoplasma

Abstract

The effects that take place when an electron traverses a magnetoplasma with a velocity v are discussed at length starting from the equation of conservation of energy and momentum of both the photon and electron in their relativistic form. The electromagnetic properties of a homogeneous, lossless and cold magnetoplasma, including ions, are reviewed briefly and reconciled with the equations of conservation. The resulting equations are specified for the cases of perpendicular and parallel magnetic field, electron velocity and wavevector of the photon involved. It is found that a single electron injected from the outside can excite right- and left-hand polarized, ordinary and extraordinary waves, helicons, whistlers, Alfvén waves and waves which depend on the difference of mobile carrier densities. The low-frequency, low-phase velocity phonons turn out to be dependent on the relation ℏ ω mv 2 itp