Quasi-Isotropic Approximation of Geometrical Optics Method as Adequate Electrodynamical Basis for Tokamak Plasma Polarimetry

Basic principles and recent findings of quasi-isotropic approximation (QIA) of a geometrical optics method are presented in a compact manner. QIA was developed in 1969 to describe electromagnetic waves in weakly anisotropic media. QIA represents the wave field as a power series in two small parameters, one of which is a traditional geometrical optics parameter, equal to wavelength ratio to plasma characteristic scale, and the other one is the largest component of anisotropy tensor. As a result, “” QIA ideally suits to tokamak polarimetry/interferometry systems in submillimeter range, where plasma manifests properties of weakly anisotropic medium.