Science Explorer Interactive view Map

Radio Wave Propagation Studies

Radio Wave Propagation Studies is a research topic within Aerospace Engineering. Science Explorer counts 14k research works in it since 1950. 23.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on radar wave propagation, refractivity estimation, and atmospheric ducting. It includes research on parabolic wave equations, evaporation ducts, tropospheric refractivity, and the impact of meteorological parameters on radio wave propagation. The studies cover a wide range of techniques and models for estimating refractivity from radar sea clutter and ground-based GPS, as well as the development of tools for propagation prediction over variable terrain.

  • Radar Propagation
  • Refractivity Estimation
  • Parabolic Wave Equation
  • Evaporation Duct
  • Tropospheric Refractivity
  • Atmospheric Ducting
  • Radio Wave
  • Ground-Based GPS
  • Electromagnetic Scatterings
  • Meteorological Parameters
Research works
14k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3.3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
23.5%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+17%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Radio Wave Propagation Studies research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (834 and 222 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 834 works
  2. 2 United States 222 works
  3. 3 India 125 works
  4. 4 Russia 123 works
  5. 5 Japan 77 works
  6. 6 Germany 72 works
  7. 7 South Korea 58 works
  8. 8 Nigeria 51 works
  9. 9 France 51 works
  10. 10 United Kingdom 49 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 50.2%United States: 13.3%India: 7.5%Russia: 7.4%6 others listed: 21.6%50%largest
China834 · 50.2%United States222 · 13.3%India125 · 7.5%Russia123 · 7.4%6 others listed359 · 21.6%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Radio Wave Propagation Studies research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Xidian University publishes the most Radio Wave Propagation Studies research, followed by National University of Defense Technology and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

Who are the leading researchers in Radio Wave Propagation Studies?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Radio Wave Propagation Studies include Mohamed‐Slim Alouini and Theodore S. Rappaport.

  1. 1 Mohamed‐Slim Alouini Saudi Arabia 5.9k citations
  2. 2 Theodore S. Rappaport United States 3.7k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Radio Wave Propagation Studies research done?

The largest centres of Radio Wave Propagation Studies research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Xi'an (China), Nanjing (China) and Chengdu (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Xi'an, Saint Petersburg and Chengdu.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 177 works
  2. 2 Xi'an China 113 works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 68 works
  4. 4 Chengdu China 55 works
  5. 5 Wuhan China 50 works
  6. 6 Moscow Russia 48 works
  7. 7 Changsha China 38 works
  8. 8 Shanghai China 35 works
  9. 9 Tokyo Japan 35 works
  10. 10 Saint Petersburg Russia 24 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Xi'anCN · 113.0 works6.5×
  2. Saint PetersburgRU · 23.9 works4.0×
  3. ChengduCN · 55.2 works3.7×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Radio Wave Propagation Studies than the world average.

See Radio Wave Propagation Studies on the map

Where is the best place to study Radio Wave Propagation Studies?

Among universities, judged by research, Xidian University, National University of Defense Technology and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 29.34%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Xidian University: 45, 25.8%National University of Defense Technology: 33, 27.5%University of Electronic Science and Technology of China: 30, 26.1%Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications: 17, 24.0%Federal University of Technology: 9, 18.8%Northwestern Polytechnical University: 12, 43.5%Sun Yat-sen University: 10, 38.7%Southeast University: 13, 38.1%Xi'an University of Technology: 10, 22.6%Beihang University: 18, 28.3%National University …University of Electr…Xidian UniversityBeijing University o…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Xidian UniversityChina 72.325.8%27.9×45 -9.0%
2 National University of Defense TechnologyChina 68.927.5%19.2×33 +23.8%
3 University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChina 66.926.1%12.1×30 -26.7%
4 Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 64.324.0%12.4×17 +45.1%
5 Federal University of TechnologyNigeria 58.218.8%27.9×9 +40.7%
6 Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityChina 55.043.5%5.0×12 -10.0%
7 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 54.538.7%2.9×10 +77.8%
8 Southeast UniversityChina 52.038.1%4.4×13 -22.2%
9 Xi'an University of TechnologyChina 50.122.6%13.4×10 +1.0%
10 Beihang UniversityChina 50.028.3%7.2×18 -43.7%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Radio Wave Propagation Studies research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 17% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Radio Wave Propagation Studies.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.