PY5012 Introduction to Plasma Physics
 Lecturers: Prof. Peter T. Gallagher (DIAS/TCD) and Dr Eoin Carrley (DIAS

Module Objective

The aim of the postgraduate module is to give students a solid grounding in fundamental plasma physics. The course is designed to appeal to graduate students in astrophysics and physics. The level of the course is advanced undergraduate/junior postgraduate.

Module Contents

Part I: Basic concepts
Characterization of the plasma state, Debye shielding, plasma and cyclotron frequencies, collision rates and mean-free paths, atomic processes, adiabatic invariance, orbit theory, magnetic confinement of single-charged particles.

Part II: Magnetohydrodynamics
Derivation of equations of MHD; induction equation; frozen flux theorem.

Part III: Waves and Instabilities
MHD wave modes; derivation of dispersion relations; resonances and cutoffs; normal modes for a hot plasma.

Lecture Notes

Homework

Recommended Books