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Wave Polarization
A pure right-handed circularly polarized wave propagating along the
-axis takes the form
In terms of complex amplitudes, this becomes
![$\displaystyle \frac{{\rm i}\,E_x}{E_y} = 1.$](img1789.png) |
(5.58) |
Similarly, a left-handed circularly polarized wave is characterized by
![$\displaystyle \frac{{\rm i}\,E_x}{E_y} = -1.$](img1790.png) |
(5.59) |
The polarization of the transverse electric field is obtained from the
middle line of Equation (5.42):
![$\displaystyle \frac{{\rm i}\,E_x}{E_y} = \frac{n^2 -S}{D} = \frac{2\,n^2 - (R+L)}{R-L}.$](img1791.png) |
(5.60) |
For the case of parallel propagation, with
, the previous formula
yields
. Similarly, for the case of parallel propagation,
with
, we obtain
. Thus, it is clear that
the roots
and
in Equations (5.51)-(5.53) correspond to
right- and left-handed circularly polarized waves, respectively.
Next: Cutoff and Resonance
Up: Waves in Cold Plasmas
Previous: Cold-Plasma Dispersion Relation
Richard Fitzpatrick
2016-01-23