Introduction to Plasma Physics: With Space, Laboratory and Astrophysical Applications, Edition 2

Donald A. Gurnett · Amitava Bhattacharjee

Feb 2017 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

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 mathematical methods, this book is ideal as an advanced undergraduate to graduate-level textbook, or as a reference for researchers.

About the author

Donald A. Gurnett is a pioneer in the study of waves in space plasmas, and has been active in teaching plasma physics and conducting experimental space physics research for over fifty years. He is currently the James A. Van Allen/R. J. Carver Professor of Physics at the University of Iowa and has received numerous awards for both his teaching and research. In 1994 he received the Iowa Board of Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, and in 1998 was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Amitava Bhattacharjee is a leading theoretical plasma physicist and has contributed to a wide range of subjects spanning fusion, space, and astrophysical plasma physics. He is currently a Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, New Jersey, and Head of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Theory Department. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union.