Strong-Field Electromagnetic Wave Interaction with Anisotropic Plasmas

Investigations of strong-field electromagnetic wave interactions with plasmas have been conducted. In the nonresonant frequency regions, the electron velocity distribution function is Maxwellian and considerations based on Maxwellian theory agree with experiment. At resonant and near-resonant frequencies considerations based on an electron velocity distribution which is non-Maxwellian explain the observations if enhanced electron diffusion is absent. However, at near-resonant frequencies, enhanced electron diffusion due to strong fields can be of great significance in reducing the electron density.