Introduction to Plasma Physics

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.

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Characteristic parameters of a plasma; 3. Single particle motions; 4. Waves in a cold plasma; 5. Kinetic theory and the moment equations; 6. Magnetohydrodynamics; 7. MHD equilibria and stability; 8. Discontinuities and shock waves; 9. Electrostatic waves in a hot unmagnetized plasma; 10. Waves in a hot magnetized plasma; 11. Nonlinear effects; 12. Collisional processes; Appendix A. Symbols; Appendix B. Useful trigonometric identities; Appendix C. Vector differential operators; Appendix D. Vector calculus identities; Index.