Pulse dispersion in a gyrotropic plasma

The dispersion of nanosecond electromagnetic pulses in a longitudinally magnetized plasma confined in a coaxial transmission line is observed experimentally. The transient response exhibits weakly damped oscillations characteristic of the natural frequencies of a bounded gyrotropic plasma. Measurements of the pulse dispersion caused by reflection from the plasma interface and transmission through the plasma are compared with theoretical results obtained on the basis of a dielectric model of the plasma, in which ion motion and random motions of electrons are neglected.