Fully updated and revised, this second edition of the classic text on plasma astrophysics covers all the fundamentals and includes new sections on subjects such as plasma heating by reverse current, the moment equations, and the Grad-Shafranov equation.

This two-part book is devoted to classic fundamentals and current practices and perspectives of modern plasma astrophysics. This first part uniquely covers all the basic principles and practical tools required for understanding and work in plasma astrophysics. More than 25% of the text is updated from the first edition, including new figures, equations and entire sections on topics such as magnetic reconnection and the Grad-Shafranov equation.

The book is aimed at professional researchers in astrophysics, but it will also be useful to graduate students in space sciences, geophysics, applied physics and mathematics, especially those seeking a unified view of plasma physics and fluid mechanics.

Provides many additions, updates and some corrections of chapter sections, figures, exercises and equations Newly added chapter sections include topics such as plasma heating by reverse current, the moment equations, the powerful heat flux problem, the frozen field theorem, magnetic reconnection, stability of plasma-compressing waves, MHD oscillations in the solar corona and the Grad-Shafranov equation Discusses updates on the evolutionarily of Trans-Alfvenic shock waves Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Boris Somov is a professor at the Moscow State University, laureate of the State Prize of the former USSR (the Honor Prize of the USSR Government), and laureate of the IBC Award, "2000 Outstanding People of the 20th Century," in honor of his contribution to space physics and astrophysics. Five well-known monographs, "Physical Processes in Solar Flares," "Fundamentals of Cosmic Electrodynamics," "Cosmic Plasma Physics" and "Plasma Astrophysics, Parts I&II (First Edition)" by Boris Somov were published by Kluwer Academic Publishers and Springer in 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2006, respectively. He has contributed more than 280 articles to the scientific literature in solar physics and plasma astrophysics.

Inhalt

From the Contents: Plasma Astrophysics: History and Neighbours.- Particles and Fields: Exact Self-Consistent Description.- Statistical Description of Interacting Particle Systems.- Weakly-Coupled Systems with Binary Collisions.- Propagation of Fast Particles in Plasma.- Motion of a Charged Particle in Given Fields.- Adiabatic Invariants in Astrophysical Plasma.- Wave-Particle Interaction in Astrophysical Plasma.- Coulomb Collisions in Astrophysical Plasma.