Introduction to Plasma Physics: A graduate level course
Introduction to Plasma Physics: A graduate level course
Structured systems have binding energies larger than the ambient thermal energy. Placed in a sufficiently hot environment, they decompose: e.g., crystals melt, molecules disassociate. At temperatures near or exceeding atomic ionization energies, atoms similarly decompose into negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. These charged particles are by no means free: in fact, they are strongly affected by each others’ electromagnetic fields. Nevertheless, because the charges are no longer bound, their assemblage becomes capable of collective motions of great vigor and complexity. Such an assemblage is termed a plasma.
Contents:
1 Introduction [ Sources ~ What is plasma? ~ A brief history of plasma physics ~ Basic parameters ~ The plasma frequency ~ Debye shielding ~ The plasma parameter ~ Collisionality ~ Magnetized plasmas ~ Plasma beta ]
2 Charged particle motion [ Introduction ~ Motion in uniform fields ~ Method of averaging ~ Guiding centre motion ~ Magnetic drifts ~ Invariance of the magnetic moment ~ Poincar´e invariants ~ Adiabatic invariants ~ Magnetic mirrors ~ The Van Allen radiation belts ~ The ring current ~ The second adiabatic invariant ~ The third adiabatic invariant ~ Motion in oscillating fields ]
3 Plasma fluid theory [ Introduction ~ Moments of the distribution function ~ Moments of the collision operator ~ Moments of the kinetic equation ~ Fluid equations ~ Entropy production ~ Fluid closure ~ The Braginskii equations ~ Normalization of the Braginskii equations ~ The cold-plasma equations ~ The MHD equations ~ The drift equations ~ Closure in collisionless magnetized plasmas ]
4 Waves in cold plasmas [ Introduction ~ Plane waves in a homogeneous plasma ~ The cold-plasma dielectric permittivity ~ The cold-plasma dispersion relation ~ Polarization ~ Cutoff and resonance ~ Waves in an unmagnetized plasma ~ Low-frequency wave propagation in a magnetized plasma . ~ Wave propagation parallel to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation perpendicular to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation through an inhomogeneous plasma ~ Cutoffs ~ Resonances ~ The resonant layer ~ Collisional damping ~ Pulse propagation ~ Ray tracing ~ Radio wave propagation through the ionosphere ]
5 Magnetohydrodynamic theory [ Introduction ~ Magnetic pressure ~ Flux freezing ~ MHD waves ~ The solar wind ~ The Parker model of the solar wind ~ The interplanetary magnetic field ~ Mass and angular momentum loss ~ MHD dynamo theory ~ The homopolar generator ~ Slow dynamos and fast dynamos ~ The Cowling anti-dynamo theorem ~ The Ponomarenko dynamo ~ Magnetic reconnection ~ Linear tearing mode theory ~ Nonlinear tearing mode theory ~ Fast magnetic reconnection ]
6 The kinetic theory of waves [ Introduction ~ Landau damping ~ The physics of Landau damping ~ The plasma dispersion function ~ Ion sound waves ~ Waves in a magnetized plasma ~ Wave propagation parallel to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation perpendicular to the magnetic field ]
Download>> Introduction to Plasma Physics: A graduate level course
Structured systems have binding energies larger than the ambient thermal energy. Placed in a sufficiently hot environment, they decompose: e.g., crystals melt, molecules disassociate. At temperatures near or exceeding atomic ionization energies, atoms similarly decompose into negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. These charged particles are by no means free: in fact, they are strongly affected by each others’ electromagnetic fields. Nevertheless, because the charges are no longer bound, their assemblage becomes capable of collective motions of great vigor and complexity. Such an assemblage is termed a plasma.
Contents:
1 Introduction [ Sources ~ What is plasma? ~ A brief history of plasma physics ~ Basic parameters ~ The plasma frequency ~ Debye shielding ~ The plasma parameter ~ Collisionality ~ Magnetized plasmas ~ Plasma beta ]
2 Charged particle motion [ Introduction ~ Motion in uniform fields ~ Method of averaging ~ Guiding centre motion ~ Magnetic drifts ~ Invariance of the magnetic moment ~ Poincar´e invariants ~ Adiabatic invariants ~ Magnetic mirrors ~ The Van Allen radiation belts ~ The ring current ~ The second adiabatic invariant ~ The third adiabatic invariant ~ Motion in oscillating fields ]
3 Plasma fluid theory [ Introduction ~ Moments of the distribution function ~ Moments of the collision operator ~ Moments of the kinetic equation ~ Fluid equations ~ Entropy production ~ Fluid closure ~ The Braginskii equations ~ Normalization of the Braginskii equations ~ The cold-plasma equations ~ The MHD equations ~ The drift equations ~ Closure in collisionless magnetized plasmas ]
4 Waves in cold plasmas [ Introduction ~ Plane waves in a homogeneous plasma ~ The cold-plasma dielectric permittivity ~ The cold-plasma dispersion relation ~ Polarization ~ Cutoff and resonance ~ Waves in an unmagnetized plasma ~ Low-frequency wave propagation in a magnetized plasma . ~ Wave propagation parallel to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation perpendicular to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation through an inhomogeneous plasma ~ Cutoffs ~ Resonances ~ The resonant layer ~ Collisional damping ~ Pulse propagation ~ Ray tracing ~ Radio wave propagation through the ionosphere ]
5 Magnetohydrodynamic theory [ Introduction ~ Magnetic pressure ~ Flux freezing ~ MHD waves ~ The solar wind ~ The Parker model of the solar wind ~ The interplanetary magnetic field ~ Mass and angular momentum loss ~ MHD dynamo theory ~ The homopolar generator ~ Slow dynamos and fast dynamos ~ The Cowling anti-dynamo theorem ~ The Ponomarenko dynamo ~ Magnetic reconnection ~ Linear tearing mode theory ~ Nonlinear tearing mode theory ~ Fast magnetic reconnection ]
6 The kinetic theory of waves [ Introduction ~ Landau damping ~ The physics of Landau damping ~ The plasma dispersion function ~ Ion sound waves ~ Waves in a magnetized plasma ~ Wave propagation parallel to the magnetic field ~ Wave propagation perpendicular to the magnetic field ]
Download>> Introduction to Plasma Physics: A graduate level course
