Relativistic theory of mode conversion at plasma frequency – the finite difference time domain simulation Original Research Article

The equations governing the mode conversion between an electromagnetic wave and a plasma wave are derived from the fluid equations for the nonrelativistic case, and from the Vlasov equation for the relativistic case. They are further reduced to involve only two electric field components. Both cases show that the mode conversion has similar magnitude in conversion efficiency and becomes insignificant beyond image of incident angle. The finite difference time domain simulation measuring the wave packet of the electromagnetic wave with and without the mode conversion indicates that while the mode efficiency improves with plasma temperature in the nonrelativistic case, it saturates in the relativistic case.