Wave propagation in magneto-ionic slabs

The propagation characteristics of electromagnetic waves in magneto-ionic slabs are of interest in predicting the behavior of trapped modes in anisotropic waveguide structures such as the ion ducts formed by the lines of the earth´s magnetic field. This paper derives the expression for waveguide modes present in a uniform infinite plasma slab. The slab has finite thickness, is filled with a lossless plasma and threaded by a uniform static magnetic field along the direction of propagation. It is shown that two sets of hybrid modes can propagate in a magneto-ionic slab at frequencies below plasma resonance, but no trapped modes are supported above this frequency.