Goos-Hänchen shifts of the reflected waves from a cold, inhomogeneous, and magnetized plasma slab

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2010 Jan;81(1 Pt 2):016603. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.81.016603. Epub 2010 Jan 7.

Abstract

We discuss theoretically the Goos-Hänchen (GH) shifts of the reflected waves from a cold, inhomogeneous, and magnetized plasma slab by using the invariant imbedding approach. Aiming at the linear and parabolic electron-density profiles, we demonstrate numerically the dependences of the co- and cross-polarized GH shifts on the angle of incidence, external static magnetic field, and the thickness of the plasma slab. The results show that the different electron-density profiles of plasma can result in the very different dependences of the GH shifts on the angle of incidence, external magnetic field, and the slab's thickness; the GH shifts can be switched between the considerably large positive and negative values under certain conditions. Particularly, without altering the structure of the plasma slab, the GH shifts can be manipulated by modifying the angle of incident or the external static magnetic field.