Scattering Model of Cold Electrostatic Waves in a Dipole Magnetic Field

Patrick Langer; University of Iowa

A 1-D integral equation is formulated from cold plasma theory to describe the scattering of ion acoustic waves incident on the center of a dipole magnet. This integral equation is solved numerically via the Nyström method. An analysis of the effects on the frequency spectrum is provided, including the time of flight of the wave as well as the structure of the wave cutoff for varying magnetic field strength. Ideas for more sophisticated approaches to scattering models are discussed.