Numerical Simulation of Plasma Effects near the Surface of an Irradiated Conductor

Three codes have been written to study plasma effects on induced electromagnetic fields near a conductor when exposed to a sharp pulse of X radiation in the upper atmosphere. These codes examine phenomena relating to X rays interacting with a metallic surface and with the ambient atmosphere. An important result is that the plasma will confine the fields to the vicinity of the metal surface. This work has application to missile-radiation coupling problems. The relevant physics is discussed and the results of typical calculations are included.