AST 552 General Plasma Physics II (2008)

• Classroom: Jadwin A06

• Time: 10:30 - 11:50am MWF
• Week 1: lectures on Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.
• Week 2: lectures on Feb. 11 and Feb. 13.
• Week 3: lectures on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20, homework review on Feb. 22.
  
• Week 4: lectures on Feb. 25 and Feb. 27, homework review on Feb. 29.
• Week 5: lectures on Mar. 3 and Mar. 5, homework review on Mar. 7.
• Week 6: lectures on Mar. 10 and Mar. 12.

• Part I. Magnetohydrodynamics (by Hantao Ji) 
• period: Feb. 4 – Mar. 14
• email: hji@pppl.gov
• phone: (609)243-2162
• office: L222, Plasma Physics Lab.


• Spring break (Mar. 17 – Mar. 21)


• Part II. Kinetic theory (by William M. Tang)
• period: Mar. 24 – Apr. 25
• email: tang@pppl.gov or wtang@princeton.edu
• phone: (609)243-2612
• office: A119, Plasma Physics Lab.


• Reading period (Apr. 28 – May 7)


• Final oral exam (May 8 – May 16)
• Location: Theory Conference Room, PPPL
• Schedules for Thursday, May 8: 
• 9:00am - 9:45am: Paul Schmitt 
• 9:45am - 10:30am: Clayton Myers 
• 10:30am - 11:15am: Anton Stepanov 
• 11:15am - Noon: Filippo Scotti 
• Schedules for Friday, May 9: 
• 9:00am - 9:45am: Katy Cantous 
• 9:45am - 10:30am: Martin Griswold
• 1:30pm - 2:15pm: Hua Wang
  
• Schedules for Friday, May 16:
• 9:00am - 9:45am: John Rhoads 

References

Syllabus

Lecture Notes

• Magnetohydrodynamic equations

• Magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium
  

• Waves and shocks
  

• Energy principle

• Instabilities (I)

• Instabilities (II)

• Instabilities (III)
  

• Relaxation and turbulence

• Dynamo

• Magnetic reconnection

Homework problems

• Distributed every week; due within one week.

• Grader: Seth Dorman
  
• email: sdorfman@pppl.gov
• phone: 609-243-2447
• office: S222, Plasma Physics Lab.

• Homework problem set 1

• Homework problem set 2

• Homework problem set 3

• Homework problem set 4

• Homework problem set 5

• Homework problem set 6

Textbooks

• Miyamoto, Plasma Physics for Nuclear Fusion, (Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 1989).
[a new version of this book: Miyamoto, Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion, (Springer, New York, 2004)]

• Freidberg, Ideal magnetohydrodynamics (New York, Plenum Press, 1987). Out of print, xerox copy available in the library.

• Kulsrud, Plasma physics for astrophysics (Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 2005).