Plasma Physics

Plasma Physics is the study of a gas of charged particles. A "plasma" is also called the fourth state of matter since its properties are very different from a gas of neutral particles. It is a very exciting subject and has applications in many areas of science and engineering. This is one of the rare subjects which has both the abstraction of pure science and the hard core applications of engineering disciplines.

Basic Books on Plasma Physics:

• Introduction to Plasma Theory
  Dwight R. Nicholson
  
  
• Introduction to Plasma Physics
  Francis F. Chen
  
  
• Introduction to Plasma Physics: a graduate course
  Richard Fitzpatrick
  
  

The book by Chen is one of the most basic books in Plasma Physics. The maths is light but the book gives a good physical insight into various concepts of Plasma Physics. One can read this book to get a basic background in Plasma Physics. The book by Nicholson is mathematically more appealing. The e-book by Fitzpatrick is also quite nice.

As for the pre-requisites, someone in the higher semesters of undergraduate study can start reading the theory of Plasmas. However, a study of the following subjects can be very helpful and is also essential to a large extent:

• Classical Mechanics
  H. Goldstein
  
  
• Introduction to Statistical Mechanics
  A. M. Vasilyev
  
  
• Introduction to Electrodynamics
  David J. Griffiths
  
  
• Classical Electrodynamics
  John David Jackson
  
  
• Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
  David J. Griffiths
  
  
• Methods of Theoretical Physics
  P. M. Morse and H. Feshbach
  
  
• Chaos in Dynamical Systems
  Edward Ott
  
  
• Regular and Chaotic Dynamics
  A. J. Lichtenberg and M. A. Lieberman
  
  
• Introduction to Turbulence in Fluids and Plasmas
  IPP
  
  
• Nonlinear Science FAQ
  Colorado University
  
  

• Complex Variables and Applications
  R. V. Churchill and J. W. Brown
  
  
• Linear Algebra Done Right
  Sheldon Axler
  
  
• Principles of Mathematical Analysis
  Walter Rudin
  
  

The following books are extremely useful for looking up mathematical formulae and doing numerical analysis:

• Handbook of Mathematical Functions
  M. Abramowitz and I. Stegun
  
  
• Numerical Recipes --- The Art of Scientific Computing
  W. H. Press, B. P. Flannery, S. A. Teukolsky and W. T. Vetterling
  
  

These are some simulation codes developed at UC Berkeley and are widely used by Plasma Physicists:

• XES1
• XOOPIC
• XGRAFIX --- This is required to install XES1 or XOOPIC

Some important papers:

• Nonlinear Oscillations in a Cold Plasma
  John M. Dawson
  
  
• Exact Nonlinear Plasma Oscillations
  Ira B. Bernstein, John M. Greene and Martin Kruskal
  [BGK Modes]
  
  
• Scattering of Electrons in Ionized Gases
  Irving Langmuir
  [Langmuir Paradox]
  
  
• Oscillations in Ionized Gases
  Lewi Tonks and Irving Langmuir
  
  
• Stochastic Problems in Physics and Astronomy
  S. Chandrasekhar
  
  
• Laser Electron Accelerator
  T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson
  
  
• Electromagnetic Traps for charged and neutral particles
  Wolfgang Paul
  [Nobel Prize in Physics in the year 1989]
  
  
• Asymptotic Theory of Hamiltonian and other Systems with all Solutions Nearly Periodic
  Martin Kruskal
  
  
• Stochasticity in Classical Hamiltonian Systems
  D. F. Escande
  
  
• The Soliton: A New Concept in Applied Science
  Alwyn C. Scott, F. Y. F. Chu and David W. McLaughlin
  
  
• Oscillation Center Quasilinear Theory
  R. L. Dewar
  
  
• A Guiding Center Hamiltonian: A New Approach
  Robert G. Littlejohn
  
  
• Electron Magnetohydrodynamics
  A. V. Gordeev, A. S. Kingsep and L. I. Rudakov
  
  
• Propagation of Ion-Acoustic Solitary Waves of Small Amplitude
  H. Washimi and T. Taniuti
  
  

A few important journals in Plasma Physics:

• Physics of Plasmas
• Physical Review Letters
• Physical Review E
• Journal of Mathematical Physics
• Chaos
• Nuclear Fusion
• Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
• IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science

To know about Plasma research worldwide, please visit this page