Newsgroups:
sci.physics.plasma
Subject: New plasma texts
From: Rudolf Treumann
<tre@hpth02.plasma.mpe-garching.mpg.de>
Organization: MPE
Garching
Basic Space Plasma Physics by W. Baumjohann & R.
A. Treumann (MPE Garching)
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This
new textbook collects and expands lecture notes from a two-semester
course.
However, the first part can also be used for a one-semester
undergraduate
course and research scientists may find the later chapters
helpful. The
book is written in a self-contained way and most of the material
is
presented including the basic steps of derivation so that the reader can
follow
without need to consult original sources. Some of the more involved
mathematical
derivations are given in the appendix. Special emphasis has been
placed on
providing instructive figures. Figures with original measurements are
scarce
and mostly redrawn in a more schematic way.
The first five chapters
provide an introduction into space physics, based on a
mixture of simple
theory and a description of the wealth of space plasma
phenomena. A
concise description of the Earth's plasma environment is followed
by a
derivation of single particle motion in electromagnetic fields, adiabatic
invariants,
and applications to the Earth's magnetosphere and ring current.
Then the
origin and effects of collisions and conductivities and the formation
of
the ionosphere are discussed. Ohm's law and the frozen-in concept are
introduced
on a heuristic basis. The first part ends with an introduction into
magnetospheric
dynamics, including convection electric fields, current systems,
substorms,
and other macroscopic aspects of solar wind-magnetosphere and
magnetosphere-ionosphere
coupling.
The second part of the book presents a more rigorous
theoretical foundation of
space plasma physics, yet still contains many
applications to space physics. It
starts from kinetic theory, which is
built on the Klimontovich approach.
Introducing moments of the
distribution function allows the derivation of the
single and multi-fluid
equations, followed by a discussion of fluid boundaries
and shocks, with
the Earth's magnetopause and bow shock as examples. Both,
fluid and
kinetic theory are then applied to derive the relevant wave modes in
a
plasma, again with applications from space physics.
The material
presented in the present book is extended in "Advanced Space
Plasma
Physics", by Treumann & Baumjohann (Imperial College Press, in
press).
This companion textbook gives a representative selection of the
many macro- and
microinstabilities in a plasma, from the Rayleigh-Taylor
and Kelvin-Helmholtz
to the electrostatic and electromagnetic
instabilities, and a comprehensive
overview on the nonlinear aspects
relevant for space plasma physics, e.g.,
wave-particle interaction,
solitons, and anomalous transport.
Contents: Introduction; Single
Particle Motion; Trapped Particles; Collisions
and Conductivity;
Convection and Substorms; Elements of Kinetic Theory;
Magnetohydrodynamics;
Flows and Discontinuities; Waves in Plasma Fluids; Wave
Kinetic Theory
(330 pages).
Readership: Undergraduates, graduates and researchers
in space physics
Imperial College Press, London 1996, ISBN
1-86094-017-X, price US$58/UK#41
For further information see:
http://www.mpe-garching.mpg.de/bj/bspp.html
"Advanced Space
Plasma Physics" by R. A. Treumann & W. Baumjohann
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This
new textbook book is the second volume of our introductory text on Space
Plasma
Physics. The first volume is published by W. Baumjohann & R. A.
Treumann
under the title "Basic Space Plasma Physics" (Imperial
College Press, London
1996) and covers the more fundamental aspects, i.e.,
single particle dynamics,
fluid equilibria, and waves in space plasmas.
This second volume extends the
material to the more advanced fields of
plasma instabilities and nonlinear
effects, especially those encountered
in space plasma physics.
The first part of the book is concerned
with the evolution of linear
instabilities in plasmas. Inhomogeneities may
evolve both in real space and in
velocity space. These inhomogeneities
lead to the generation of instabilities
as a first linear and
straightforward reaction of the plasma to such deviations
from thermal
equilibrium. The first chapters cover a representative selection
of the
many macro- and microinstabilities in space plasmas, from the
Rayleigh-Taylor
and Kelvin-Helmholtz to electrostatic and electromagnetic
kinetic
instabilities. Their quasilinear stabilization and nonlinear evolution
and
their application to space physics problems is treated.
As a natural
extension of the linear evolution, nonlinear effects do inevitably
evolve
in an unstable plasma, simply because an instability cannot persist
forever
but will exhaust the available free energy. Therefore all instabilities
are
followed by nonlinear evolution. The second part of the book, the
chapters
on nonlinear effects, can only give an overview about the vast
field of
nonlinearities. These chapters include the nonlinear evolution of
single waves,
weak turbulence, and strong turbulence, all presented from
the view-point of
their relevance for space plasma physics. Special topics
include soliton
formation, caviton collapse, anomalous transport, particle
acceleration, and
elements of the theory of collisionless shocks.
Contents:
Introduction; Concept of Instability; Macroinstabilities;
Electrostatic
& Electromagnetic Instabilities; Drift Instabilities;
Reconnection;
Wave-Particle Interaction; Weak Wave Turbulence; Nonlinear Waves;
Strong
Turbulence; Collective Effects (392 pages).
Readership: researchers
and graduates in plasma physics and space physics
Imperial College
Press, London 1997, ISBN 1-86094-026-9, price US$68/UK#49
For
further information see: http://www.mpe-garching.mpg.de/bj/aspp.html