PROGRAM of

'Introduction to Plasma Physics'

Third Year

• Plasma models and main parameters. Plasma quasi-neutrality. Plasma parameter. Geophysical plasma.
• Vlasov equation. Typical velocity distributions in Earth magnetosphere. Measured quantities.
• Collisions in plasma. Magnetic diffusion.
• Hydrodynamic variables and equations of multi- fluid magnetohydrodynamics.
• Pressure anisotropy in plasma. Double- adiabatic invariants for a plasma in strong magnetic field.
• One- fluid MHD. Generalized Ohm's law. Magnetic pressure.
• Ideal MHD. Frozen-in properties of magnetic field in plasma.
• The Ferraro theorem. Magnetic hydrostatics. Force- free magnetic field configurations. Validity of magnetohydrodynamics.
• Equilibrium of a neutral current sheet. The Harris model.
• Dispersion of plasma waves in linear theory. Langmuir waves. Debye shielding.
• Waves in non- magnetic plasma. Ion sound. Electromagnetic waves in plasma. Cut- off frequency and plasma sounding.
• Dispersion relation for waves in cold magnetized plasma.
• Electrostatic waves. Upper- hybrid, lower- hybrid and cyclotron modes.
• High- frequency electromagnetic waves in cold magnetized plasma.
Perpendicular propagation.
• Parallel propagation.
• Whistlers.
• Magnetosonic and Alfven waves in ideal MHD. Friedrichs diagram.