Abstract
Oscillations in inhomogeneous cold plasmas or inhomogeneous magnetofluids are interpreted in terms of the dynamics of their spectra in wavenumber space. By Fourier transforming the basic integro-differential equation of the problem, a generalized wave equation in wavenumber space is derived, thus converting the oscillation and phase-mixing processes in the original x space into processes of dispersive propagation and scattering of the spectrum in wavenumber space. The Barston singular continuum eigenmodes correspond to stationary scattering states of a monochromatic wave in wavenumber space, whereas the damping phenomena in x space correspond to transient ‘ leaking ’ phenomena accompanying scattering and dispersive propagation of a wave packet in wavenumber space.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 245-264 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Journal of Plasma Physics |
Volume | 52 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 1994 |