ABSTRACT
The incidence of a source wave on a step discontinuity in the dielectric properties of a time-invariant medium results in reflected and transmitted waves that have the same frequency as the source wave and are labeled as A waves. The incidence of a source wave on a temporal step discontinuity in the dielectric properties of a space-invariant plasma medium results in reflected and transmitted waves that have an upshifted frequency and are labeled as B waves. Step profiles are mathematical approximations for fast profiles and provide insight into the physical processes as well as serve as reference solutions for a perturbation technique. The B component arises due to the wave reflected by the temporal discontinuity. A quantitative idea of the damping of the B wave is given by calculating the damping constants for a low-loss plasma.
