Surface waves on a quantum plasma half-space
- Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, 116 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2 (Canada) and Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum- und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, D-44780 Bochum (Germany)
Surface modes are coupled electromagnetic/electrostatic excitations of free electrons near the vacuum-plasma interface and can be excited on a sufficiently dense plasma half-space. They propagate along the surface plane and decay in either sides of the boundary. In such dense plasma models, which are of interest in electronic signal transmission or in some astrophysical applications, the dynamics of the electrons is certainly affected by the quantum effects. Thus, the dispersion relation for the surface wave on a quantum electron plasma half-space is derived by employing the quantum hydrodynamical (QHD) and Maxwell-Poisson equations. The QHD include quantum forces involving the Fermi electron temperature and the quantum Bohm potential. It is found that, at room temperature, the quantum effects are mainly relevant for the electrostatic surface plasma waves in a dense gold metallic plasma.
- OSTI ID:
- 21072725
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 14, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2825278; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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