Plasma Theory: An Advanced Guide for Graduate Students

This textbook, based on the author’s classroom-tested lecture course, helps graduate students master the advanced plasma theory needed to unlock results at the forefront of current research. It is structured around a two semester course, beginning with kinetic theory and transport processes, while the second semester is devoted to plasma dynamics, including MHD theory, equilibrium, and stability. More advanced problems such as neoclassical theory, stochastization of the magnetic field lines, and edge plasma physics are also considered, and each chapter ends with an illustrative example which demonstrates a concrete application of the theory. The distinctive feature of this book is that, unlike most other advanced plasma science texts, phenomena in both low and high temperature plasma are considered simultaneously so that theory of slightly ionized and fully ionized plasmas is presented holistically. This book will therefore be ideal as a classroom text or self-study guide for a wide cohort of graduate students working in different areas like nuclear fusion, gas discharge physics, low temperature plasma applications, astrophysics, and more. It is also a useful reference for more seasoned researchers.