Helicon waves in a cylindrical plasma

The dispersion relation for helicon waves in a uniform bounded plasma is derived by including the finite electron mass. The eigenmodes are identified and the coupling mechanism between the Ez and Bz modes is discussed. This is important since an essential part of the physics associated with the application of helicon waves for the generation and heating of plasmas consists in coupling the whistler branch with the E^ mode, which can interact directly with the electrons.