The effect of the inhomogeneous collision frequency on the absorption of electromagnetic waves in a magnetized plasma

The effect of an inhomogeneous collision frequency on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a high temperature magnetized plasma is analyzed numerically. A parabolic profile is adopted to describe the non-uniformity of the collision frequency. The results of the numerical calculations show that the effect caused by the inhomogeneity of the collision frequency can be weakened by higher electron density; it can also be strengthened by a larger plasma thickness and stronger collision frequency. We also found that the effect caused by inhomogeneous collision frequency is of the same order as the effect originated from the inhomogeneous electron density. The results presented may improve modeling accuracy in applications related to space exploration.