Phase and signal velocities of eigenwaves in a binary dissipative plasma

The signal and phase velocities of the possible waves (eigenwaves) in a dissipative binary plasma have been studied on the basis of the linearized thirteenmoment theory. The complete set of eigenmodes for the given system is formed using approximations in the range of frequencies high compared with typical collision or plasma frequencies. There are twenty non-trivial propagation modes. Four of them are modes with signal-front speed c associated with the induced electromagnetic wave. Eight modes belong to each of the gas constituents, among them two longitudinal diffusion modes (±W I ), four transverse viscosity modespolarized respectively along two transverse axes ±W ⊥ in the direction x 1 and ±W ⊥ in the direction x 2 ) and two longitudinal thermal modes (±W II ). The signalfront speed of all eigenwaves is lower than the speed of light, so that the system is hyperbolic. The ultra-relativistic plasma is also briefly discussed. In this case, all the mixture constituents will have the same set of signal-front speeds as a single gas, irrespective of the bulk viscosity. Comparison is made of the present theory and results with other theories (for some special cases).