MUTUAL FOCUSING OF ELECTROMAGNETIC-WAVES IN THE IONOSPHERIC PLASMA

A one dimensional analysis has been carried out to study the interaction of two co‐axial electromagnetic waves propagating vertically at close frequencies in the F‐region ionosphere. Coupled equations for the beam width parameters of the two interacting waves have been set up to determine the intensities in the axial direction. Two cases have been examined, i one of the em beams is assumed to be weak so that its influence on the medium as well as on the other beam is neglected, ii) the two beams are of comparable intensities so that they mutually influence each other. In the first case the axial intensity of the weak beam grows at the expense of the other one which is strong. Whereas in the other situation mutual influence results in the focusing of both the beams. Copyright © 1990 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA