Controlled heating of a cylindrical plasma using the features of an exceptional point

Abstract

The paper proposes a method of controlled heating of a cylindrical plasma using the features of the Exceptional point. It is shown that the coupled system of plasma and dielectric waveguides is capable of generating exceptional points where their dispersion curves cross. By controlling the connection (distance) between the waveguides, it is possible to control the distribution of the electromagnetic field, both in the plasma and in the dielectric waveguides around the exceptional point. It is also shown that in the presence of dissipative losses in the plasma, the degree of heating of the plasma waveguide can be controlled by tuning the distribution and intensity of the exciting electromagnetic field in the coupled waveguide system, which gives a potential advantage among other methods of plasma heating. The results obtained in the work can be considered as an example of a new method of controlled plasma heating, which can be used to overcome the existing problems of controlled thermonuclear fusion.

Keywords

• exceptional point
• eigenmodes
• plasma waveguide
• dissipative losses.