Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-condensed-matter-physics-major-option-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/5/c/iii/solution
Past exam of the condensed matter physics major option course of the University of Oxford 2015 5 c iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
At high density the plasma scale remains large, but a strong magnetic field separates the two circular dielectric responses. Ignoring damping, the positive plasma cutoffs areBetween suitable cutoffs one circular wave can propagate while the other is excluded; reflection and transmission are strongly polarization dependent. Around the cyclotron frequency the active response is resonant, while at optical frequencies far above the splitting can be a relatively small correction to a large plasma edge.
There is also a low-frequency window: for the active component, gives when losses are small. This supports a helicon-like mode even when . That does not make an ordinary metal broadly transparent; the large index, boundary coupling, collisions and skin geometry still matter. In the common regime , bulk cyclotron absorption remains hidden from straightforward transmission, motivating a surface-sensitive experiment. Thus the relevant comparisons are among , , and , not carrier density and field in isolation.
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