A unified approach to some integral formulae for reflexion processes in an isotropic plasma

Many different problems, associated with the propagation of electromagnetic waves in an inhomogeneous isotropic plasma and governed by second-order differential equations, are reformulated so as to be brought within the scope of a common analytical procedure. Reflexion coefficients, energy considerations, approximation procedures, slab reflexion, and other theorems are considered, the investigations of different physical processes all being attributable to one underlying mathematical method involving integrals, whose integrands contain quadratic products of the field variables and their derivatives in two different arrangements. (author)