Dispersion Characteristics of Cyclotron Waves in a Warm Plasma Waveguide

An analysis of cyclotron waves in a cylindrical waveguide containing a warm plasma column is presented. In the analysis,a non linear wave equation is derived using the linearized fluid equations along with Maxwell s equations. The generalresult obtained for the annular plasma column is then reduced to be used for the case where the plasma column fillsthe entire waveguide as well as partially filled configuration. Dispersion relations for electromagnetic and electrostaticmodes are solved numerically to study the effect of electron thermal velocity on the characteristics of azimuthally symmetricaleigenmodes. The numerical studies show that the thermal motion of electrons shifts the frequencies of cyclotronplasma modes towards higher values.