Scattering by a Perfectly Conducting Sphere Immersed in an Anisotropic Magnetoplasma

With the growing interest in very-low-frequency (VLF: 3–30 kHz) spaceborne systems, understanding the scattering characteristics of objects in anisotropic magnetoplasma has become essential for optimizing radiation and transmission applications. The focus of this research is to propose an analytical approach to determine the induced current and the scattered field of the conducting sphere in the near zone and far zone. By fully considering the sphere dimensions, current inhomogeneity, plasma anisotropy, and geomagnetic field, we deduce and solve a system of two integral equations governing two induced current components for the first time. Subsequently, the scattered field is obtained by considering the contributions of the ordinary wave (O-wave) and extraordinary wave (E-wave). Computations and analysis show the scattering patterns of the E-wave primarily along the direction of the geomagnetic field, whereas the O-wave pattern exhibits the omnidirectional distribution. The lobes of the far-zone scattering pattern are more concentrated in the direction of the geomagnetic field compared with the near-zone case. Moreover, as the effective collision frequency increases, the magnitude of the field strength decreases and becomes more concentrated in the geomagnetic field direction.