Radiation from a line source in a ground plane covered by a warm plasma slab

The problem of a magnetic line source in a ground plane coated with a warm plasma slab is investigated. Consideration is given to electromagnetic and plasma waves in the slab and to the coupling at the boundaries between these waves and the free-space fields. An integral expression for the radiation field is obtained and is evaluated by the method of steepest descent. The resulting radiation patterns display interesting effects due to electron pressure near the electron plasma frequency, and these are discussed with the help of the transmission line analog to the problem. The surface-wave poles are located and discussed using this same analog.