Physics of Space Plasma Activity
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 11/23/2006
EAN 9780521858977, ISBN10: 0521858976
Hardcover, 524 pages, 24.4 x 17 x 2.8 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Space plasma is so hot that the atoms break up into charged particles which then become trapped and stored in magnetic fields. When critical conditions are reached the magnetic field breaks up, releasing a large amount of energy and causing dramatic phenomena. The largest space plasma activity events observed in the solar system occur on the Sun, when coronal mass ejections expel several billion tons of plasma mass into space. This book provides a coherent and detailed treatment of the physical background of large plasma eruptions in space. It provides the background necessary for dealing with space plasma activity, and allows the reader to reach a deeper understanding of this fascinating natural event. The book employs both fluid and kinetic models, and discusses the applications to magnetospheric and solar activity. This will form an interesting reference for graduate students and academic researchers in the fields of astrophysics and plasma physics.
Preface
1. Introduction
Part I. Setting the Scene
2. Sites of activity
3. Plasma models
Part II. Quiescence
4. Introduction
5. Magnetohydrodynamic states
6. Particle picture of steady states
7. A unified theory of steady states
8. Quasi-static evolution and thin current sheets (TCS)
Part III. Dynamics
9. Nonideal effects
10. Selected macroinstabilities
11. Magnetic reconnection
12. Aspects of bifurcation and nonlinear dynamics
Part IV. Applications
13. Magnetospheric activity
14. Models of solar activity
15. Discussion
Appendix 1. Unified theory
details and derivations
Appendix 2. Variational principle for collisionless plasmas
Appendix 3. Symbols and fundamental constants
References
Index.
'This volume concentrates on one major topic of considerable theoretical interest ... This is not a book for beginners! The two central sections of the book then represent in essence a coherent overview of the theoretical researches pioneered by the author and his colleagues at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum over the past thirty years or so, combined with relevant results drawn from the work of others. ... Overall, this is a very worthwhile work that coherently draws together a substantial body of research literature. It can be thoroughly recommended to those of a theoretical inclination for its rigorous but clear and physically-motivated treatment of a topic of central importance to the physics of large-scale plasmas in our Solar System, and most probably those beyond.' The Observatory '... concise and easy to read ... exhaustively referenced ... Schindler's excellent monograph represents a rich and deep resource of elegantly presented information about the fundamentals of activity in space plasmas. This volume should be on the bookshelf of every researcher working to understand this complex phenomenon.' Journal of Plasma Physics '...valuable...' Surveys in Geophysics 'The subject is not only of inherent academic interest but also of practical relevance to human society at the start of the third millennium.' Surveys in Geophysics