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Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > States of matter > Plasma physics
Plasma Physics is an authoritative and wide-ranging pedagogic study of the "fourth" state of matter. The constituents of the plasma state are influenced by electric and magnetic fields, and in turn also produce electric and magnetic fields. This fact leads to a rich array of properties of plasma described in this text. The author uses examples throughout, many taken from astrophysical phenomena, to explain concepts. In addition, problem sets at the end of each chapter will serve to reinforce key points. A basic knowledge of mathematics and physics is preferable to fully appreciate this text. This book provides the ideal introduction to this complex and fascinating field of research, balancing theoretical aspects with practical and preparing the graduate student for further study.
This is an advanced text on electromagnetic theory, presenting a systematic discussion of electromagnetic waves and radiation processes in a wide variety of media. The treatment, taken from the field of plasma physics, is based on the dielectric tensor, and this permits the discussion of media outside the scope of the usual approach adopted in most textbooks on electromagnetism. The approach taken also has notable advantages when applied to the conventional emission processes of electromagnetic theory. The authors have thus unified the approaches used in plasma physics and astrophysics on the one hand, and in optics on the other. The book has been written clearly and pedagogically, and will be therefore of value to senior undergraduates, graduate students, lecturers and researchers. Students will find the exercises provided at the end of each chapter particularly useful.
A unified and systematic treatment of the main results and techniques of relativistic fluid dynamics with an emphasis on waves and shock waves. The first four chapters provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of relativistic fluid dynamics and magneto-fluids. The remaining chapters present specific topics, including non-linear electromagnetic waves in relativistic cold plasmas, relativistic asymptotic waves, and relativistic shock waves. Examples of the applications of the theory to plasma physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics are presented.
This introductory account of instabilities in plasmas concentrates on laboratory plasmas, such as those encountered in fusion research, and the space plasmas studied in physics of the magnetosphere and solar atmosphere. This account bridges the gap between a graduate textbook on plasma physics, and specialized similarities between astrophysical and laboratory plasmas that are traditionally regarded as quite separate. The author, an expert in plasma astrophysics who has written a two-volume book on the subject, treats the material naturally, lending a broader perspective to the subject. This is an instructional text for graduate students and professionals in magnetospheric and mathematical physics, radiophysics, solar and theoretical astrophysics and radio astronomy.
Fluid Dynamics via Examples and Solutions provides a substantial set of example problems and detailed model solutions covering various phenomena and effects in fluids. The book is ideal as a supplement or exam review for undergraduate and graduate courses in fluid dynamics, continuum mechanics, turbulence, ocean and atmospheric sciences, and related areas. It is also suitable as a main text for fluid dynamics courses with an emphasis on learning by example and as a self-study resource for practicing scientists who need to learn the basics of fluid dynamics. The author covers several sub-areas of fluid dynamics, types of flows, and applications. He also includes supplementary theoretical material when necessary. Each chapter presents the background, an extended list of references for further reading, numerous problems, and a complete set of model solutions.
With ninety per cent of visible matter in the universe existing in the plasma state, an understanding of magnetohydrodynamics is essential for anyone looking to understand solar and astrophysical processes, from stars to accretion discs and galaxies; as well as laboratory applications focused on harnessing controlled fusion energy. This introduction to magnetohydrodynamics brings together the theory of plasma behavior with advanced topics including the applications of plasma physics to thermonuclear fusion and plasma- astrophysics. Topics covered include streaming and toroidal plasmas, nonlinear dynamics, modern computational techniques, incompressible plasma turbulence and extreme transonic and relativistic plasma flows. The numerical techniques needed to apply magnetohydrodynamics are explained, allowing the reader to move from theory to application and exploit the latest algorithmic advances. Bringing together two previous volumes: Principles of Magnetohydrodynamics and Advanced Magnetohydrodynamics, and completely updated with new examples, insights and applications, this volume constitutes a comprehensive reference for students and researchers interested in plasma physics, astrophysics and thermonuclear fusion.
This book grew out of the author's notes from his course on Radiative Processes in High Energy Astrophysics. The course provides fundamental definitions of radiative processes and serves as a brief introduction to Bremsstrahlung and black body emission, relativistic beaming, synchrotron emission and absorption, Compton scattering, synchrotron self-compton emission, pair creation and emission. The final chapter discusses the observed features of Active Galactic Nuclei and their interpretation based on the radiative processes presented in the book. Written in an informal style, this book will guide students through their first encounter with high-energy astrophysics.
A good working knowledge of fluid mechanics and plasma physics is essential for the modern astrophysicist. This graduate textbook provides a clear, pedagogical introduction to these core subjects. Assuming an undergraduate background in physics, this book develops fluid mechanics and plasma physics from first principles. This book is unique because it presents neutral fluids and plasmas in a unified scheme, clearly indicating both their similarities and their differences. Also, both the macroscopic (continuum) and microscopic (particles) theories are developed, establishing the connections between them. Throughout, key examples from astrophysics are used, though no previous knowledge of astronomy is assumed. Exercises are included at the end of chapters to test the reader's understanding. This textbook is aimed primarily at astrophysics graduate students. It will also be of interest to advanced students in physics and applied mathematics seeking a unified view of fluid mechanics and plasma physics, encompassing both the microscopic and macroscopic theories.
In this book, a distinguished expert introduces plasma physics from the ground up, presenting it as a comprehensible field that can be grasped largely on the basis of physical intuition and qualitative reasoning, similar to other fields of physics. Plasmas are ionized gases that can be found in a hydrogen bomb explosion, the confinement chamber of an experimental fusion reactor, the solar corona, the aurora borealis, the interstellar medium, and the immediate vicinity of a gravitational black hole. Not surprisingly, plasma physics appears to consist of numerous topics arising independently from astrophysics, fusion physics, and other practical applications, and hence it remains a field poorly understood even by many astrophysicists. But, in fact, most of these topics can be approached from the same perspective, with a simple, physical intuition. Selecting simple examples and presenting them in a simultaneously intuitive and rigorous manner, Russell Kulsrud guides readers through a careful derivation of the results and allows them to think through the physics for themselves. Thus, they are better prepared for complex cases and more general results. The first eleven chapters present topics by their importance to plasma physics while the last three chapters emphasize the field's astrophysical applications, applying the results accrued earlier. Throughout, many problems illustrate the field's applications. Based on a course the author taught for many years, "Plasma Physics for Astrophysics" is intended for graduate students as well as for working astrophysicists.
This volume presents a full mathematical exposition of the growing field of coronal seismology which will prove invaluable for graduate students and researchers alike. Roberts' detailed and original research draws upon the principles of fluid mechanics and electromagnetism, as well as observations from the TRACE and SDO spacecraft and key results in solar wave theory. The unique challenges posed by the extreme conditions of the Sun's atmosphere, which often frustrate attempts to develop a comprehensive theory, are tackled with rigour and precision; complex models of sunspots, coronal loops and prominences are presented, based on a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) view of the solar atmosphere, and making use of Faraday's concept of magnetic flux tubes to analyse oscillatory phenomena. The rapid rate of progress in coronal seismology makes this essential reading for those hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the field.
This Book's focus and intent is to impart an understanding of the practical application of atmospheric plasma for the advancement of a wide range of current and emerging technologies. The primary key feature of this book is the introduction of over thirteen years of practical experimental evidence of successful surface modifications by atmospheric plasma methods. It offers a handbook-based approach for leveraging and optimizing atmospheric plasma technologies which are currently in commercial use. It also offers a complete treatment of both basic plasma physics and industrial plasma processing with the intention of becoming a primary reference for students and professionals. The reader will learn the mechanisms which control and operate atmospheric plasma technologies and how these technologies can be leveraged to develop in-line continuous processing of a wide variety of substrates. Readers will gain an understanding of specific surface modification effects by atmospheric plasmas, and how to best characterize those modifications to optimize surface cleaning and functionalization for adhesion promotion. The book also features a series of chapters written to address practical surface modification effects of atmospheric plasmas within specific application markets, and a commercially-focused assessment of those effects.
This book presents a comprehensive course of quantum mechanics for undergraduate and graduate students. After a brief outline of the innovative ideas that lead up to the quantum theory, the book reviews properties of the Schroedinger equation, the quantization phenomena and the physical meaning of wave functions. The book discusses, in a direct and intelligible style, topics of the standard quantum formalism like the dynamical operators and their expected values, the Heisenberg and matrix representation, the approximate methods, the Dirac notation, harmonic oscillator, angular momentum and hydrogen atom, the spin-field and spin-orbit interactions, identical particles and Bose-Einstein condensation etc. Special emphasis is devoted to study the tunneling phenomena, transmission coefficients, phase coherence, energy levels splitting and related phenomena, of interest for quantum devices and heterostructures. The discussion of these problems and the WKB approximation is done using the transfer matrix method, introduced at a tutorial level. This book is a textbook for upper undergraduate physics and electronic engineering students.
This book has two goals. One goal is to provide a means for those new to high-energy-density physics to gain a broad foundation from one text. The second goal is to provide a useful working reference for those in the ?eld. This book has at least four possible applications in an academic c- text. It can be used for training in high-energy-density physics, in support of the growing number of university and laboratory research groups working in this area. It also can be used by schools with an emphasis on ultrafast lasers, to provide some introduction to issues present in all laser-target - perimentswithhigh-powerlasers, andwiththoroughcoverageofthematerial in Chap. 11 on relativistic systems. In addition, it could be used by physics, applied physics, or engineering departments to provide in a single course an introduction to the basics of ?uid mechanics and radiative transfer, with d- matic applications. Finally, it could be used by astrophysics departments for a similar purpose, with the parallel bene't of training the students in the similarities and di?erences between laboratory and astrophysical systems. The notation in this text is deliberately sparse and when possible a given symbol has only one meaning. A de?nition of the symbols used is given in Appendix A. In various cases, additional subscripts are added to distinguish among cases of the same quantity, as for example in the use of ? and ? 1 2 to distinguish the mass density in two di?erent regions
This complete introduction to plasma physics and controlled fusion by one of the pioneering scientists in this expanding field offers both a simple and intuitive discussion of the basic concepts of this subject and an insight into the challenging problems of current research. In a wholly lucid manner the work covers single-particle motions, fluid equations for plasmas, wave motions, diffusion and resistivity, Landau damping, plasma instabilities and nonlinear problems. For students, this outstanding text offers a painless introduction to this important field; for teachers, a large collection of problems; and for researchers, a concise review of the fundamentals as well as original treatments of a number of topics never before explained so clearly. This revised edition contains new material on kinetic effects, including Bernstein waves and the plasma dispersion function, and on nonlinear wave equations and solitons. For the third edition, updates was made throughout each existing chapter, and two new chapters were added; Ch 9 on "Special Plasmas" and Ch 10 on Plasma Applications (including Atmospheric Plasmas).
A unified and systematic treatment of the main results and techniques of relativistic fluid dynamics with an emphasis on waves and shock waves. The first four chapters provide an introduction to the fundamental principles of relativistic fluid dynamics and magneto-fluids. The remaining chapters present specific topics, including non-linear electromagnetic waves in relativistic cold plasmas, relativistic asymptotic waves, and relativistic shock waves. Examples of the applications of the theory to plasma physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics are presented.
This is the first monograph to describe the historical development of ideas concerning the plasmasphere by the pioneering researchers themselves. The plasmasphere is a cold thermal plasma cloud encircling the Earth, terminating abruptly at a radial distance of 30,000 km over a sharp discontinuity known as the plasmapause. The volume commences with an account of the difficulties met in USSR by Gringauz to publish his early discoveries from Soviet rocket measurements, and the contemporaneous breakthroughs by Carpenter in the USA from ground-based whistler measurements. The authors then update our picture of the plasmasphere by presenting experimental and observational results of the past three decades, and mathematical and physical theories proposed to explain its formation. The volume will be invaluable for researchers in space physics, and will also appeal to those interested in the history of science.
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 provides a systematic introduction to the physics behind measurements on plasmas. It develops from first principles the concepts needed to plan, execute, and interpret plasma diagnostics. The book is therefore accessible to graduate students and professionals with little specific plasma physics background, but is also a valuable reference for seasoned plasma physicists. Most of the examples are taken from laboratory plasma research, but the focus on principles makes the treatment useful to all experimental and theoretical plasma physicists, including those interested in space and astrophysical applications. This second edition is thoroughly revised and updated, with new sections and chapters covering recent developments in the field. Specific areas of added coverage include neutral-beam-based diagnostics, flow measurement with mach probes, equilibrium of strongly shaped plasmas and fusion product diagnostics.
This is an advanced text on electromagnetic theory, presenting a systematic discussion of electromagnetic waves and radiation processes in a wide variety of media. The treatment, taken from the field of plasma physics, is based on the dielectric tensor, and this permits the discussion of media outside the scope of the usual approach adopted in most textbooks on electromagnetism. The approach taken also has notable advantages when applied to the conventional emission processes of electromagnetic theory. The authors have thus unified the approaches used in plasma physics and astrophysics on the one hand, and in optics on the other. The book has been written clearly and pedagogically, and will be therefore of value to senior undergraduates, graduate students, lecturers and researchers. Students will find the exercises provided at the end of each chapter particularly useful.
This monograph presents a comprehensive description of the theoretical foundations and experimental applications of spectroscopic methods in plasma physics research. The first three chapters introduce the classical and quantum theory of radiation, with detailed descriptions of line strengths and high density effects. The next chapter describes theoretical and experimental aspects of spectral line broadening. The following five chapters are concerned with continuous spectra, level kinetics and cross sections, thermodynamic equilibrium relations, radiative energy transfer, and radiative energy losses. The book concludes with three chapters covering the basics of various applications of plasma spectroscopy to density and temperature measurements and to the determination of some other plasma properties. Over one thousand references not only guide the reader to original research covered in the chapters, but also to experimental details and instrumentation. This will be an important text and reference for all those working on plasmas in physics, optics, nuclear engineering, and chemistry, as well as astronomy, astrophysics and space physics.
Physics of Solar System Plasmas provides a comprehensive introduction to the plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics that are needed to study the solar wind and magnetosphere. The text includes a broad introduction to plasma physics, including important discussions of kinetic theory, single particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics, geomagnetically trapped energetic particles and the physics of magnetic reconnection. This leads into a thorough description of the Sun and the solar wind, and, finally, the author addresses magnetospheric physics. Among the topics covered here are magnetospheric morphology, bow shocks, magnetospheric convection and electrical currents, substorms, ionospheric physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, auroral physics and the interaction of the solar wind with the planets. Problem sets at the end of each chapter make this a useful text for advanced undergraduate students in astrophysics, geophysics, or atmospheric sciences. Graduate students and researchers will also find it a valuable source of information.
The Physics of Plasmas provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject, illustrating the basic theory with examples drawn from fusion, space and astrophysical plasmas. Various aspects of plasma physics are discussed, beginning with particle orbit theory, and including fluid equations, a variety of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models, wave equations and kinetic theory. The relationships between these distinct approaches are discussed. In this way, the reader gains a firm grounding in the fundamentals, leading to an understanding of some of the more specialized topics. Throughout the text, there is an emphasis on the physical interpretation of plasma phenomena; Exercises are included.
Unlike most other texts on the subject, this clear, concise introduction to the theory of microscopic bodies treats the modern theory of critical phenomena. Provides up-to-date coverage of recent major advances, including a self-contained description of thermodynamics and the classical kinetic theory of gases, interesting applications such as superfluids and the quantum Hall effect, several current research applications, The last three chapters are devoted to the Landau-Wilson approach to critical phenomena. Many new problems and illustrations have been added to this edition.
Graduate students and researchers in astrophysics and cosmology need a solid grasp of a wide range of physical processes. This authoritative textbook helps readers develop the necessary toolkit of theory. The book is modular in design, allowing the reader to pick and chose a selection of chapters, if necessary. After reviewing the basics of dynamics, electromagnetic theory, and statistical physics, the book carefully develops a solid understanding of radiative processes, spectra, fluid mechanics, plasma physics and MHD, dynamics of gravitating systems, general relativity, nuclear physics, and other key concepts. Throughout, the reader's understanding is developed and tested with problems and helpful hints. This welcome volume provides graduate students with an indispensable introduction to and reference on all the physical processes they will need to successfully tackle cutting-edge research in astrophysics and cosmology. It can be used alone or in conjunction with two companion volumes, which cover stars and stellar systems, and galaxies and cosmology (both forthcoming). |
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