The absorption coefficient of a magnetized plasma for cyclotron radiation

The interaction of cyclotron radiation with a relativistic Maxwellian plasma has been re-examined with the aim of developing a computational method which will be useful for the range of parameters of interest in tokamak studies. A suitable method and the resulting computer code are briefly sketched. A sampling of results is presented and compared with previously published approximate results. A discrepancy in the ordinary-wave interaction at 90° propagation is pointed out. A simple model is discussed which permits easy extension of the computational method to include runaway electrons, and illustrative results are presented.