Most astronomers believe that the universe began about 15 billion years ago when an explosion led to its expansion and cooling. The present state of the universe compels us to believe that the universe was extremely hot and dense in its infancy. In the beginning there was intense radiation. The photons produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter and a plasma soup of particles and antiparticles was present. Plasma is the first state of matter from which all the other states originated. This book discusses the diversity of cosmic and terrestrial plasmas found in the early universe, galactic and intergalactic media, stellar atmospheres, interstellar spaces, the solar system and the Earth's ionosphere, and their observability with the most recent telescopes such as the Chandra X-ray telescope and gamma ray telescopes. It deals with different ways of creating plasmas such as thermal, pressure and radiative ionization for laboratory and cosmic plasmas.
Author(s): Vinod Krishan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 280
City: Cambridge
Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
1 The Plasma Universe
1.1 Plasma, a Matter of State
1.2 Plasma, the First State of Matter
1.3 Plasma in Superclusters of Galaxies
1.4 Intergalactic Plasma
1.5 Galactic Plasma
1.6 Interstellar Plasma
1.7 Plasmas in Stars
1.8 Sun, a Plasma Laboratory
1.9 Solar Wind
1.10 Cometary Plasma
1.11 Planetary Plasma
1.12 Terrestrial Plasma
1.13 Earth’s Magnetosphere
1.14 The Ionosphere
1.15 Plasmas in Laboratory
1.16 The Clean Energy
1.17 Thermonuclear Fusion
1.18 Magnetic Confinement Fusion
1.19 Inertial Confinement Fusion
1.20 Space Travel-Plasma Rockets
1.21 Plasma Accelerators
1.22 Plasma Materials and Methods
1.23 Fully Ionized Plasma
1.24 Partially Ionized Plasma
1.25 Ultracold Plasmas
1.26 Dusty Plasma
1.27 Quantum Plasma
1.28 Techniques for Studying Plasmas
1.29 Summary
Problems
2 Plasma Basics
2.1 Making Plasmas
2.2 Plasma Formation by Photoionization
2.3 Collisional Ionization
2.4 Thermal Ionization
2.5 Pressure Ionization
2.6 Electric Discharge through Gases
2.7 Critical Velocity Ionization
2.8 Measuring Plasmas
2.9 Plasma Specifics
2.10 Debye Screening
2.11 Plasma-Typical Time Scales
2.12 The Plasma Parameter
2.13 When is it a Plasma?
2.14 Summary
Problems
3 Plasma Confinement
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The Grip of Gravity
3.3 Hydrostatic Equilibrium
3.4 Hydrodynamic Equilibrium
3.5 Magnetic Bottles
3.6 Motion of a Charged Particle in a Magnetic Field
3.7 Plasma in a Magnetic Field
3.8 Magnetostatic Equilibrium, the Z Pinch
3.9 Magnetostatic Equilibrium, the Θ Pinch
3.10 Magnetostatic Force Free Equilibrium, the Reversed Field Pinch
3.11 Magnetic Mirrors
3.12 Confinement of Plasmas under Radiation Pressure
3.13 Inertial Confinement
3.14 Summary
Problems
4 The Waving Plasmas
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Single Fluid Description of a Plasma
4.3 Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics
4.4 Linear Waves in Ideal Magnetofluid
4.5 Transverse MHD Waves: The Linear Alfvén Wave
4.6 Polarization of the Alfvén Waves
4.7 Energy Partition in the Alfvén Waves
4.8 Nonlinear Alfvén Waves
4.9 Dissipation of the Alfvén Waves
4.10 The Longitudinal Magnetohydrodynamic Waves
4.11 Polarization of the Fast Wave
4.12 Energy Partition in the Fast Wave
4.13 Dissipation of the Fast Wave
4.14 Oblique Propagation of Magnetoacoustic Waves
4.15 Polarization of the Oblique Fast and Slow Waves
4.16 Energy Partition in the Fast and the Slow Waves
4.17 Dissipation of the Oblique Fast and the Slow Waves
4.18 Inclusion of the Displacement Current
4.19 Detection and Observation of the Magnetohydro dynamic Waves
4.20 Waves in a Two-Fluid Description of a Plasma
4.21 The Hall Wave
4.22 The Electron Plasma Waves
4.23 Polarization of the Electron Plasma Wave
4.24 Energy Partition in the Electron Plasma Wave
4.25 Dissipation of the Electron Plasma Wave
4.26 Inclusion of Thermal Pressure
4.27 Detection of the Electron Plasma Waves
4.28 Ion Acoustic Waves
4.29 The Plasma Approximation
4.30 Polarization of the Ion Acoustic Waves
4.31 Energy Partition in the Ion Acoustic Waves
4.32 Dissipation of the Ion Acoustic Wave
4.33 Detection of the Ion Acoustic Wave
4.34 Electrostatic Waves in Magnetized Fluids
4.35 The Upper Hybrid Wave
4.36 The Lower Hybrid Wave
4.37 Electrostatic Magneto-Ion Acoustic Waves in Magnetized Plasma
4.38 Electromagnetic Waves in an Unmagnetized Plasma
4.39 Electromagnetic Waves in Magnetized Plasmas
4.40 Ordinary Wave
4.41 Extraordinary Wave
4.42 Polarization of the Extraordinary Wave
4.43 Electromagnetic Waves Propagating along
4.44 Circularly Polarized Radiation
4.45 The Whistler Wave
4.46 The Faraday Rotation
4.47 Cutoff Frequencies of the Electromagnetic Waves
4.48 Resonances of the Electromagnetic Waves
4.49 Propagation Bands of the Electromagnetic Waves
4.50 Summary
Problems
5 The Radiating Plasmas
5.1 Radiation and Plasmas
5.2 A Quick Revisit of Waves
5.3 Electromagnetic Radiation
5.4 Polarization of Electromagnetic Waves
5.5 Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in a Plasma
5.6 Absorption of Electromagnetic Waves in a Plasma
5.7 Electron–Ion Collision Frequency
5.8 Generation of the Electromagnetic Radiation
5.9 Radiation from an Oscillating Electric Dipole
5.10 Radiation from an Accelerated Single Charged Particle
5.11 Relativistic Generalization of the Larmor Formula
5.12 Radiation Spectrum
5.13 In a Plasma
5.14 Radiation from Collisions between Charged Particles
5.15 Bremsstrahlung, Radiation Generated by Coulomb Collisions
5.16 Bremsstrahlung in a Plasma
5.17 Bremsstrahlung in a Thermal Plasma
5.18 Scattering of Radiation by Plasma Particles
5.19 Thomson Scattering
5.20 Scattering in a Plasma
5.21 Summary
Problems
6 Supplementary Matter
6.1 Derivation of Eq. (3.11)
6.2 Collisional Processes
6.3 Derivation of Eq. (5.109)
6.4 Physical Constants
6.5 Electromagnetic Spectrum
6.6 Astrophysical Quantities
6.6.1 Planets
6.6.2 The Sun
6.6.3 The Milky Way
6.6.4 The Hubble Constant
6.6.5 Electron Density and Temperature of some of the Astrophysical Plasmas
6.7 Vector Identities
6.8 Differential Operations
6.8.1 Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z)
6.8.2 Cylindrical coordinates (r,θ,z)
6.8.3 Spherical coordinates (r,θ,ϕ)
Select Bibliography
Index
