Classes taught
- Space plasma
- Diagnostics in space plasmas
- Introduction to statistical data processing in the surface and plasma science
- Plasma waves
- Selected topics from space plasmas
- Physical processes in Solar System
- Magnetohydrodynamics, hot and laser plasma
- Measurement methods, modelling and processing of experimental data
- Programming in IDL – Data processing and visualisation
Other related faculty classes
NAST008 – Cosmic electrodynamics (3/1, C+Ex)
Ladislav Šubr, Michal Švanda
Basics of statistical physics. Basic definitions of plasma physics. Motion of charged particles in magnetic and electric fields. Drifts. Fluid approximation, waves in plasmas. Diffusion, plasma resistivity. Stability. Instabilities.
- Basics of statistical physics: Lioville theorem, distribution function, Lioville equation, Boltzmann equation and its moments. Thermodynamical equilibrium. Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, Saha equation.
- Basic definitions of plasma physics: Definition of plasma, temperature, collective behavior, quasineutrality. Debye length. Criteria for plasma.
- Motion of charged particles: Larmor frequency, Larmor radius, drift in homogeneous magnetic and electric fields, grad-B drift, curvature drift, inhomogeneous electric field. General solution for the motion of gyration centre for slowly changing magnetic and electric field. Drift currents. Magnetic mirrors. Magnetic moment, adiabatic invariants. Integrals of motion for the axially symmetric magnetic field, allowed and forbidden regions. Dipole, radiation belts.
- Basics of magnetohydrodynamics: Maxwell equations for plasmas, fluid equations, collisions. Complete set of equations for two-fluid approximation. Diamagnetic drift, Boltzmann relation, validity of MHD approximation, single-fluid approximation.
- Waves in plasmas: Description of the waves, phase and group speed, plasma frequency, sound waves. Electrostatic electron and ion waves, electromagnetic electron and ion waves, MHD waves. Alfvén speed, mode conversion.
- Diffusion and plasma resistivity: Mean free path, Fick law, ambipolar diffusion, diffussion in the planparallel walls configuration, diffusion across the magnetic field. Highly ionised plasmas, specific resistivity.
- Stability of plasmas: MHD equilibrium, plasma beta, diffusion of the magnetic field into plasma. Classification of instabilities, two-stream instability, gravitation, and universal instability. Landau damping.