This text is an introduction to the physics of collisional plasmas, as opposed to plasmas in space. It is intended for graduate students in physics and engineering . The first chapter introduces with
Collisional transport theory is of central importance to modern plasma physics. This book provides a self-contained treatment of the subject, starting from elementary concepts and developing the theory through to the research frontier. Basic tools of kinetic plasma theory, such as the drift kinetic equation and the Coulomb collision operator, are derived, and are then used to calculate classical and neoclassical transport occurring in high-temperature plasmas. Important phenomena such as neo-classical diffusion, bootstrap current, and plasma rotation are carefully explained. Students, theoreticians and experimentalists in both fusion and space plasma physics will benefit from this book, which emerged from a graduate student level course taught at MIT.
Collisional transport theory is of central importance to modern plasma physics. This book provides a self-contained treatment of the subject, starting from elementary concepts and developing the theory through to the research frontier. Basic tools of kinetic plasma theory, such as the drift kinetic equation and the Coulomb collision operator, are derived, and are then used to calculate classical and neoclassical transport occurring in high-temperature plasmas. Important phenomena such as neo-classical diffusion, bootstrap current, and plasma rotation are carefully explained. Students, theoreticians and experimentalists in both fusion and space plasma physics will benefit from this book, which emerged from a graduate student level course taught at MIT.
This book presents a broad overview of the recent developments in collisional-radiative modeling of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Such modeling is at the core of accurate spectroscopic d
This book, first published in 2000, provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory of magnetic field line reconnection, now a major subject in plasma physics. The book focuses on the various reconnection mechanisms dominating magnetic processes under the different plasma conditions encountered in astrophysical systems and in laboratory fusion devices. The book consists of two major parts: the first deals with the classical resistive approach, while the second presents an overview of weakly collisional or collisionless plasmas. Applications primarily concern astrophysical phenomena and dynamo theory, with emphasis on the solar and geodynamo, as well as magnetospheric substorms, the most spectacular reconnection events in the magnetospheric plasma. The theoretical procedures and results also apply directly to reconnection processes in laboratory plasmas, in particular the sawtooth phenomenon in tokamaks. The book will be of value to graduate students and researchers interested in ma
Introducing basic principles of plasma physics and their applications to space, laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, this new edition provides updated material throughout. Topics covered include single-particle motions, kinetic theory, magnetohydrodynamics, small amplitude waves in hot and cold plasmas, and collisional effects. New additions include the ponderomotive force, tearing instabilities in resistive plasmas and the magnetorotational instability in accretion disks, charged particle acceleration by shocks, and a more in-depth look at nonlinear phenomena. A broad range of applications are explored: planetary magnetospheres and radiation belts, the confinement and stability of plasmas in fusion devices, the propagation of discontinuities and shock waves in the solar wind, and analysis of various types of plasma waves and instabilities that can occur in planetary magnetospheres and laboratory plasma devices. With step-by-step derivations and self-contained introductions to mathema
