Systematic effects of Alfv\'{e}n waves on whistler mode transmission

We study the systematic effects on whistler mode transmission measurements caused by shear Alfv\'{e}n waves in the LAPD plasma device with the goal of detecting the plasma dielectric response and electron acceleration along the magnetic field. Alfv\'{e}n waves with $\delta $B/B$\sim $ 10$^{-5}$ are generated using an arbitrary spatial waveform antenna adjusted to produce plane waves in the central region of the plasma with a perpendicular wavelength comparable to the collisionless skin depth. In the overdense ($\omega _{p}$/$\omega _{c} \sim $ 2-3) LAPD plasma with B=1800 G, the whistler mode is the only wave propagating parallel to the magnetic field just below the electron cyclotron frequency. Whistler mode absorption has previously been used successfully to measure the electron temperature, but here we observe systematic changes to the whistler transmission signal caused by the Alfv\'{e}n wave. We will discuss the problems of separating out the effect of changes in the plasma density (including ducting) with measurements of the perturbed electron velocity distribution.