Theoretical model for radar return of radiating meteors

Plasmas surrounding meteoroids provide an opportunity to characterize properties such as mass and density through radar studies. There has been work suggesting meteoroid plasmas emit electromagnetic radiation which would enable passive detection. Evidence of resonant 3-wave interactions between electromagnetic (EM) and electrostatic (ES) plasma waves in preexisting radar returns would reveal EM modes separate from the incident radar wave. This work develops a theoretical model of radar returns in the presence of EM modes radiating from a source. By modelling the radar waves and point source radiation as a statistical ensemble of quasiparticles in a wave-kinetic formulation, the physics of interaction between the two modes is revealed and compared to the case where there is no self-generated radiation.