Quasioptical modeling of wave beams with and without mode conversion: IV. Numerical simulations of waves in dissipative media

TL;DR

This paper presents the first quasioptical simulations of wave beams in hot plasma, accounting for inhomogeneous dissipation and mode conversion, revealing new effects and proposing a simplified analysis method.

Contribution

It introduces a novel simulation approach that models inhomogeneous dissipation and mode coupling in hot plasma wave beams, enhancing understanding of wave behavior.

Findings

Dissipation-rate inhomogeneity shifts beam trajectories.

Electromagnetic modes are coupled via dissipation in hot plasma.

A simplified, computationally inexpensive approach is proposed.

Abstract

We report the first quasioptical simulations of wave beams in a hot plasma using the quasioptical code PARADE (PAraxial RAy DEscription) [Phys. Plasmas 26, 072112 (2019)]. This code is unique in that it accounts for inhomogeneity of the dissipation-rate across the beam and mode conversion simultaneously. We show that the dissipation-rate inhomogeneity shifts beams relative to their trajectories in cold plasma and that the two electromagnetic modes are coupled via this process, an effect that was ignored in the past. We also propose a simplified approach to accounting for the dissipation-rate inhomogeneity. This approach is computationally inexpensive and simplifies analysis of actual experiments.