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A plasma wave resonance has $n^2\to \infty$. At finite coefficients of the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor, its generic condition is the vanishing of the coefficient of $n^4$:A plasma wave cutoff has $n^2=0$, so the constant term of the dispersion relation vanishes:Both statements are branch conditions: check the undivided dispersion relation at special angles and simultaneous zero factors. In particular, the parallel plasma oscillation at $P=0$ is a longitudinal branch with arbitrary $k$ in the cold limit, while the transverse parallel branches have plasma wave cutoffs at $R=0$ or $L=0$. Poles of the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor can give additional limiting plasma wave resonances, such as the parallel cold-plasma right-handed wave at $\omega ={\Omega }_e$; these are not obtained by assuming finite $S,P,g$.

For parallel propagation, use the undivided dispersion relation:The five requested cases are:

For the perpendicular cases the undivided dispersion relation factors as $(n^2-P)(S{n}^2-RL)=0$, up to an overall nonzero factor. This also identifies the extraordinary plasma wave plasma wave resonance at $S=0$.

An electrostatic plasma wave has $\delta \mathbf{E}=-i\mathbf{k}\varphi$. In the absence of externally imposed charge density, the Gauss law for the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor is $\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{ϵ}\cdot \delta \mathbf{E}=0$. Consequently,The antisymmetric terms of the magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor cancel in this scalar contraction. For oblique propagation this is the leading longitudinal condition in the large-refractive index approximation; a small transverse electric field is generally required by the full Maxwell equations at finite $n$. For parallel propagation an exactly longitudinal solution exists: $P=0$, hence ${\omega }^2\simeq {\omega }_{pe}^2$. It coincides with the $\theta \to 0$ limit of the finite-coefficient plasma wave resonance condition in c. At exactly $\theta =0$, $P$ factors out of the transverse dispersion relation, leaving the independent plasma oscillation rather than an isolated divergence of the transverse branches.

Write the ordinary plasma wave asThe eikonal function $S$ is dimensionless; it varies by order ${\epsilon }^{-1}$ across a background scale $L_{\mathrm{bg}}$, where $\epsilon \sim \lambda /L_{\mathrm{bg}}\ll 1$. The amplitudes and equilibrium plasma parameters vary on $L_{\mathrm{bg}}$, so $|\nabla {\mathbf{a}}_j|\ll k|{\mathbf{a}}_j|$ and $|\nabla k|\ll k^2$. The equilibrium is stationary, so $\omega$ is constant along propagation. Assume infinitesimal fields, negligible collisions, $k{v}_{\mathrm{th},s}\ll \omega$, negligible ion response, and a fixed ordinary plasma wave polarization with ${\mathbf{B}}_0\parallel \hat{\mathbf{z}}$ and spatial variation along $x$. The WKB approximation is used away from wave turning points and plasma wave resonances.

Replacing derivatives on the fast factor by $i\mathbf{k}$ and $-i\omega$ in the Maxwell equations reproduces the local magnetized cold-plasma dielectric tensor equation of b. In this one-dimensional ordinary plasma wave geometry, the Maxwell equations and the local cold parallel current density in fact give the scalar equation directly:For $\delta E_z=a(x)e^{iS(x)}$, substitution givesThe leading eikonal equation is $(S^{\prime }{)}^2=k^2(x)$, and the next order gives $2k{a}^{\prime }+k^{\prime }a=0$, hence the flux-normalized WKB amplitude $a\propto k^{-1/2}$. In particular, require $|k^{\prime }|/|k{|}^2\ll 1$ and $|k^{\prime \prime }|/|k{|}^3\ll 1$; these fail at the wave turning points.

For real $k^2(x)$, the wave equation has the conserved Wronskian fluxFor this ordinary plasma wave, the time-averaged Poynting flux is $⟨S_x⟩=c^2\mathcal{J}/(8\pi \omega )$. With no incident wave from the right, evaluating the same Wronskian flux on both sides provesThe coefficients in f also satisfy this identity algebraically, before the opaque-barrier expansion.

A plasma wave resonance makes the ideal cold description singular and requires an appropriate causal regularization. A passive resonant layer can absorb wave energy into particle motion, or convert it into another branch. For the two measured outgoing channels one then haswith $A>0$ when resonant absorption or uncounted mode conversion occurs. A numerical value of $A$ requires the layer physics; a resonance by itself does not specify a universal loss fraction. Counting all converted and absorbed energy preserves conservation of energy.