Space Physics : An Introduction to Plasmas and Particles in the Heliosphere and Magnetospheres

Phenomena in space physics are complex and their understanding often requires the integration of different concepts of space physics. To help the beginner this book uses a new methodological approach. The first chapters introduce simple concepts of plasma physics and describe where these concepts can be applied in space physics. The subsequent chapters are devoted to more-complex observations. These are interpreted in terms of the concepts introduced earlier and new, more difficult, concepts are introduced where they are required. Thus observations and physical concepts can be interwoven to give basic explanations of phenomena and also show the limitations in these explanations and point out some rather fundamental questions. The phenomena of space physics are complex and their understanding often requires the integration of different concepts. To help the beginner, this book uses a new methodolo- gical approach. The first chapters introduce simple concepts of plasma physics and describe where these can be applied in space physics. Subsequent chapters are devoted to more complex observations, interpreted in terms of the concepts introduced earlier. New, more difficult, concepts are introduced as they are required. Thus observations and physical concepts are interwoven to give basic explanations of phenomena and also show the limitations in these explanations and identify some fundamental questions. This second edition has been updated and extended. Improvements include: the use of SI units; addition of recent results from SOHO and Ulysses; improved treatment of the magnetosphere as a dynamic phenomenon; text restructured to provide a closer coupling between basic physical concepts and observed complex phenomena. The heliosphere and magnetospheres of the planets provide large natural plasma laboratories. This book is a broad, yet selective treatment of the physics of ionized gases and charged particles in the solar-terrestrial environment. The first few chapters deal with the fundamentals of plasma physics, covering such topics as single-particle motion, plasmas as fluids, magnetohydrodynamics, a brief introduction to kinetic theory, and plasma waves. Subsequent chapters discuss observations of the sun and the solar wind, energetic particles in interplanetary space and in the magnetoshperes, magnetized and unmagnetized planets, and solar-terrestrial relations, in particular the aurora. These chapters also describe the applications of these principles to space-plasma observations and introduce more-complex phenomena, such as collisionless shocks and wave-particle interactions.> Front Matter....Pages I-XIII Introduction....Pages 1-8 Charged Particles in Electromagnetic Fields....Pages 9-30 Magnetohydrodynamics....Pages 31-66 Plasma Waves....Pages 67-88 Kinetic Theory....Pages 89-102 Diffusive Transport....Pages 103-118 Shock Waves....Pages 119-142 Sun and Solar Wind: Plasmas in the Heliosphere....Pages 143-186 Energetic Particles in the Heliosphere....Pages 187-210 The Terrestrial Magnetosphere....Pages 211-254 The Dynamic Magnetosphere....Pages 255-274 Planetary Magnetospheres....Pages 275-292 Solar—Terrestrial Relationships....Pages 293-311 Instrumentation....Pages 313-324 Back Matter....Pages 325-357