Distribution of rf fields in a plasma during excitation of slow waves transverse to a magnetic field

Numerical calculations have been carried out to find the rf-field distributions in the plasma at various distances from the boundary when slow waves are excited by a system of phased waveguides near the lower hybrid frequency. The calculations were carried out in the linear approximation in a two-dimensional collisionless plasma model. Effects resulting from the finite plasma temperature were taken into account. An analytic solution of the wave equation for a low-density plasma was used in the near zone. In the far zone the calculations were carried out in the geometric-optics approximation. The results make it possible to see the evolution of the resonant cone and to estimate the amplitude, configuration, and boundaries of the rf fields which arise during the excitation of lower-hybrid waves in various experimental situations