Preface 1. Basic concepts 2. The Vlasov, two-fluid, and MHD models of plasma dynamics 3. Motion of a single plasma particle 4. Elementary plasma waves 5. Streaming instabilities and the Landau problem 6. Cold plasma waves in a magnetized plasma 7. Waves in inhomogeneous plasmas and wave energy relations 8. Vlasov theory of warm electrostatic waves in a magnetized plasma 9. MHD equilibria 10. Stability of static MHD equilibria 11. Magnetic helicity interpreted and Woltjer-Taylor relaxation 12. Magnetic reconnection 13. Fokker-Planck theory of collisions 14. Wave-particle nonlinearities 15. Wave-wave nonlinearities 16. Non-neutral plasmas 17. Dusty plasmas Appendix A. Intuitive method for vector calculus identities Appendix B. Vector calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates Appendix C. Frequently used physical constants and formulae Bibliography References Index.

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Fundamentals of Plasma Physics

This paper presents a comprehensive review of dispersive Alfven waves in space and laboratory plasmas. We start with linear properties of Alfven waves and show how the inclusion of ion gyroradius, parallel electron inertia, and finite frequency effects modify the Alfven wave properties. Detailed discussions of inertial and kinetic Alfven waves and their polarizations as well as their relations to drift Alfven waves are presented. Up to date observations of waves and field parameters deduced from the measurements by Freja, Fast, and other spacecraft are summarized. We also present laboratory measurements of dispersive Alfven waves, that are of most interest to auroral physics. Electron acceleration by Alfven waves and possible connections of dispersive Alfven waves with ionospheric-magnetospheric resonator and global field-line resonances are also reviewed. Theoretical efforts are directed on studies of Alfven resonance cones, generation of dispersive Alfven waves, as well their nonlinear interactions with the background plasma and self-interaction. Such topics as the dispersive Alfven wave ponderomotive force, density cavitation, wave modulation/filamentation, and Alfven wave self-focusing are reviewed. The nonlinear dispersive Alfven wave studies also include the formation of vortices and their dynamics as well as chaos in Alfven wave turbulence. Finally, we present a rigorous evaluation of theoretical and experimental investigations and point out applications and future perspectives of auroral Alfven wave physics.

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Small scale alfvénic structure in the aurora

Helicon waves are right-hand polarized (RHP) waves which propagate in radially confined magnetized plasmas for frequencies /spl omega//sub ci//spl Lt//spl omega//spl Lt//spl omega//sub ce/ where /spl omega//sub ci/ is the ion cyclotron frequency and /spl omega//sub ce/ is the electron cyclotron frequency. They are part of a much larger family of waves which can propagate down to zero frequency and constitute a very rich field for studying complex propagation characteristics and wave-particle interactions. This paper gives a historical perspective of the waves and their relationship to plasma source development up to the mid 1980s, presents a simple description of their propagation characteristics in free and bounded plasmas, and finishes with their first reported use in plasma processing experiments.

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Helicons-the early years

A simple diagnostic tool for performing spatially resolved density measurements in a large, weakly magnetized, low‐temperature plasma is described The principle is based on a microwave technique to determine the cold plasma dielectric property e=1−ωp2/ω2, where ωp is the electron plasma frequency A parallel‐wire quarter‐wavelength resonator is immersed into the plasma, the resonance frequency (ωres≳ωp) is measured and the density derived from the simple relation ωp2=ω2res−ω2res(e=1) In contrast to the familiar cavity resonance shift method, the present method is suited for localized density measurements The spatial resolution is comparable to the size of the resonator (2‐mm width×8 mm length, fres=745 GHz) The microwave technique is largely independent of sheath and thermal effects and is thus more reliable than probe measurements in nonuniformly rf‐heated magnetoplasmas A comparison with independent density diagnostic tools is presented and additional applications are pointed out

Microwave resonator probe for localized density measurements in weakly magnetized plasmas

A large collisionless quiescent plasma source is developed for investigating the phase and amplitude distribution of antenna-launched whistler waves in a specified parameter regime relating wave frequency to electron cyclotron frequency. Wave dispersion is studied both by interferometer techniques with monochromatic waves and by propagation of short phase-coherent wave bursts. The wave damping mechanism is examined by propagating perfectly ducted whistler waves. The dispersion of single frequency waves and wave packets is demonstrated. Trough ducting for wave frequency to electron cyclotron frequency ratio greater than 1/2 is verified, and new eigenmodes in nonuniform plasmas at ratio values less than 1/2 are observed. It is shown that geometric effects due to ray divergence and wave refraction dominate over collisional damping.

Whistler wave propagation in a large magnetoplasma

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the angular distribution of the electric field of a short radio frequency probe in a plasma in a magnetic field is described. The field is observed to become very large along a resonance cone whose axis is parallel to the static magnetic field and whose opening angle is observed to vary with incident probe frequency, cyclotron frequency, and plasma frequency in agreement with simple cold plasma dielectric theory. The relationship of these cones to the limiting phase‐ and group‐velocity cones which appear in the theory of plane wave propagation is discussed. The addition of electron thermal velocities (warm plasma effects) is examined in the limit of a large static magnetic field. A fine structure appears inside the cones and is shown to result from an interference between a fast electromagnetic wave and a slow plasma wave. This interference structure is observed experimentally and measurements of the angular interference spacing are shown to agree with the warm plasma theory. The use of measurements of the resonance cones and structure as a diagnostic tool to determine the plasma density and electron temperature in a plasma in a magnetic field is discussed.

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R. K. Fisher

Papers

Resonance Cones in the Field Pattern of a Radio Frequency Probe in a Warm Anisotropic Plasma