An Introduction to Space Plasma Complexity considers select examples of complexity phenomena related to observed plasma processes in the space environment, such as those pertaining to the solar corona, the interplanetary medium, and Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. This book provides a guided tour of the ideas behind forced and/or self-organized criticality, intermittency, multifractals, and the theory of the dynamic renormalization group, with applications to space plasma complexity. There is much to be explored and studied in this relatively new and developing field. Readers will be able to apply the concepts and methodologies espoused in this introduction to their own research interests and activities.
The growing number of scientific and technological applications of plasma physics in the field of Aerospace Engineering requires that graduate students and professionals understand their principles. This introductory book is the expanded version of class notes of lectures I taught for several years to students of Aerospace Engineering and Physics. It is intended as a reading guide, addressed to students and non-specialists to tackle later with more advanced texts. To make the subject more accessible the book does not follow the usual organization of standard textbooks in this field and is divided in two parts. The first introduces the basic kinetic theory (molecular collisions, mean free path, etc.) of neutral gases in equilibrium in connection to the undergraduate physics courses. The basic properties of ionized gases and plasmas (Debye length, plasma frequencies, etc.) are addressed in relation to their equilibrium states and the collisional processes at the microscopic level. The physical description of short and long-range (Coulomb) collisions and the more relevant collisions (elementary processes) between electrons' ions and neutral atoms or molecules are discussed. The second part introduces the physical description of plasmas as a statistical system of interacting particles introducing advanced concepts of kinetic theory, (non-equilibrium distribution functions, Boltzmann collision operator, etc). The fluid transport equations for plasmas of electron ions and neutral atoms and the hydrodynamic models of interest in space science and plasma technology are derived. The plasma production in the laboratory in the context of the physics of electric breakdown is also discussed. Finally, among the myriad of aerospace applications of plasma physics, the low pressure microwave electron multipactor breakdown and plasma thrusters for space propulsion are presented in two separate chapters.
All aspects of space plasmas in the Solar System are introduced and explored in this text for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Introduction to Space Physics provides a broad, yet selective, treatment of the complex interactions of the ionized gases of the solar terrestrial environment. The book includes extensive discussion of the Sun and solar wind, the magnetized and unmagnetized planets, and the fundamental processes of space plasmas including shocks, plasma waves, ULF waves, wave particle interactions, and auroral processes. The text devotes particular attention to space plasma observations and integrates these with phenomenological and theoretical interpretations. Highly coordinated chapters, written by experts in their fields, combine to provide a comprehensive introduction to space physics. Based on an advanced undergraduate and graduate course presented in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, the text will be valuable to both students and professionals in the field.
Observations and physical concepts are interwoven to give basic explanations of phenomena and also show the limitations in these explanations and identify some fundamental questions. Compared to conventional plasma physics textbooks this book focuses on the concepts relevant in the large-scale space plasmas. It combines basic concepts with current research and new observations in interplanetary space and in the magnetospheres. Graduate students and young researchers starting to work in this special field of science, will find the numerous references to review articles as well as important original papers helpful to orientate themselves in the literature. Emphasis is on energetic particles and their interaction with the plasma as examples for non-thermal phenomena, shocks and their role in particle acceleration as examples for non-linear phenomena. This second edition has been updated and extended. Improvements include: the use of SI units; addition of recent results from SOHO and Ulysses; improved treatment of the magnetosphere as a dynamic phenomenon; text restructured to provide a closer coupling between basic physical concepts and observed complex phenomena.
The enlarged new edition of this textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the basic processes in plasmas and demonstrates that the same fundamental concepts describe cold gas-discharge plasmas, space plasmas, and hot fusion plasmas. Starting from particle drifts in magnetic fields, the principles of magnetic confinement fusion are explained and compared with laser fusion. Collective processes are discussed in terms of plasma waves and instabilities. The concepts of plasma description by magnetohydrodynamics, kinetic theory, and particle simulation are stepwise introduced. Space charge effects in sheath regions, double layers and plasma diodes are given the necessary attention. The novel fundamental mechanisms of dusty plasmas are explored and integrated into the framework of conventional plasmas. The book concludes with a concise description of modern plasma discharges. Written by an internationally renowned researcher in experimental plasma physics, the text keeps the mathematical apparatus simple and emphasizes the underlying concepts. The guidelines of plasma physics are illustrated by a host of practical examples, preferentially from plasma diagnostics. There, Langmuir probe methods, laser interferometry, ionospheric sounding, Faraday rotation, and diagnostics of dusty plasmas are discussed. Though primarily addressing students in plasma physics, the book is easily accessible for researchers in neighboring disciplines, such as space science, astrophysics, material science, applied physics, and electrical engineering. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and contains substantially enlarged chapters on plasma diagnostics, dusty plasmas and plasma discharges. Probe techniques have been rearranged into basic theory and a host of practical examples for probe techniques in dc, rf, and space plasmas. New topics in dusty plasmas, such as plasma crystals, Yukawa balls, phase transitions and attractive forces have been adopted. The chapter on plasma discharges now contains a new section on conventional and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. The recently discovered electrical asymmetry effect in capacitive rf-discharges is described. The text is based on an introductory course to plasma physics and advanced courses in plasma diagnostics, dusty plasmas, and plasma waves, which the author has taught at Kiel University for three decades. The pedagogical approach combines detailed explanations, a large number of illustrative figures, short summaries of the basics at the end of each chapter, and a selection of problems with detailed solutions.
TO THE SECOND EDITION In the nine years since this book was first written, rapid progress has been made scientifically in nuclear fusion, space physics, and nonlinear plasma theory. At the same time, the energy shortage on the one hand and the exploration of Jupiter and Saturn on the other have increased the national awareness of the important applications of plasma physics to energy production and to the understanding of our space environment. In magnetic confinement fusion, this period has seen the attainment 13 of a Lawson number nTE of 2 x 10 cm -3 sec in the Alcator tokamaks at MIT; neutral-beam heating of the PL T tokamak at Princeton to KTi = 6. 5 keV; increase of average ß to 3%-5% in tokamaks at Oak Ridge and General Atomic; and the stabilization of mirror-confined plasmas at Livermore, together with injection of ion current to near field-reversal conditions in the 2XIIß device. Invention of the tandem mirror has given magnetic confinement a new and exciting dimension. New ideas have emerged, such as the compact torus, surface-field devices, and the EßT mirror-torus hybrid, and some old ideas, such as the stellarator and the reversed-field pinch, have been revived. Radiofrequency heat ing has become a new star with its promise of dc current drive. Perhaps most importantly, great progress has been made in the understanding of the MHD behavior of toroidal plasmas: tearing modes, magnetic Vll Vlll islands, and disruptions.
This textbook provides advanced undergraduates and graduates with up-to-date coverage of space physics from the Sun to the interstellar medium. Clear explanations of physical processes are presented alongside major new discoveries gained from space missions. End-of-chapter problems and specially developed computer-based exercises allow students to put the theory into practice.
