Plasma Dielectric Tensor for Non-Maxwellian Distributions in the FLR Limit
Authors: C.K. Phillips, A. Pletzer, R.J. Dumont, and D.N. Smithe
Date of PPPL Report: July 2003
Presented at: the 15th Topical Conference on Radio Frequency Power in Plasmas, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, May 19-21, 2003; proceedings to be published by AIP.
Previous analytical and numerical studies have noted that the presence of fully non-Maxwellian plasma species can significantly alter the dynamics of electromagnetic waves in magnetized plasmas. In this paper, a general form for the hot plasma dielectric tensor for non-Maxwellian distributions is derived that is valid in the finite Larmor radius approximation. This model provides some insight into understanding the limitations on representing non-Maxwellian plasma species with equivalent Maxwellian components in modeling radio-frequency wave propagation and absorption.