Event Details

High Power Radio Frequency Devices (and how they relate to planetary science)

Abstract: Devices capable of producing high power RF radiation have countless applications in modern society, ranging from high-resolution imaging to communication, and fusion plasma heating to particle acceleration. The underlying physics used to design some of these RF sources are directly comparable to processes studied in planetary science; for example, gyrotrons exploit the cyclotron resonant maser (CRM) instability, which is responsible for generation of kilometric scale radiation within the density cavities of planetary magnetospheres. Research in planetary science is also facilitated by RF devices, through communication with spacecraft and direct observation of the Earth’s atmosphere using RADAR systems. In this seminar, I will discuss the theory and numerical modelling of a number of these novel RF devices.