Microwave whirlpools in a rectangular waveguide cavity with a thin ferrite disk.

We study a three-dimensional system of a rectangular waveguide resonator with an inserted thin ferrite disk. The interplay of reflection and transmission at the disk interfaces together with a material gyrotropy effect, gives rise to a rich variety of wave phenomena. We analyze the wave propagation based on full Maxwell-equation numerical solutions of the problem. We show that the power-flow lines of the microwave-cavity field interacting with a ferrite disk, in the proximity of its ferromagnetic resonance, form whirlpool-like electromagnetic vortices. Such vortices are characterized by the dynamical symmetry breaking. The role of ohmic losses in waveguide walls and dielectric and magnetic losses in a disk are the subjects of our investigations.