Whistler wave propagation in a bounded collisional magnetoplasma

Guided propagation of waves in the whistler frequency range is studied in a collisional cylindrical plasma. A rigorous, full-wave approach is used to analyse the dispersion properties, damping constants and field distributions of whistler modes guided by an axially magnetized plasma column. Conditions are revealed under which weakly and strongly damped modes with significantly different field distributions can co-exist in such a waveguide in the presence of electron collisions. We show that the features of these modes are determined by the relative contribution of small-scale quasi-electrostatic waves to the total modal fields. This contribution is found to depend essentially on the electron collision frequency in the plasma. The results obtained are useful for clarification of the absorption mechanisms of whistler-range waves in a bounded plasma.