Excitation of axially asymmetric waves in a plasma with a local Alfven resonance

A theory is derived for the propagation and absorption of axially asymmetric waves with a frequency less than or comparable to the ion cyclotron frequency in a plasma cylinder with a narrow transition shell in which there is an Alfven-resonance point. The distributions of the rf fields in the plasma, including the region of the local Alfven resonance are derived. The absorbed power is also derived; the finite electron inertia, the finite ion Larmor radius, and the Cerenkov absorption of waves by electrons are all taken into account. The limit ω/ω/sub Bi/→0 is discussed