551/MAE 541 General Plasma Physics I
Nathaniel J. Fisch and Hong Qin
This is an introductory course to plasma physics, with sample
applications in fusion, space and astrophysics, semiconductor
etching, microwave generation: 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, two-fluid
description, magnetohydrodynamic waves and instabilities, heat flow,
diffusion, kinetic description, and Landau damping. The course may be
taken by undergraduates with permission of the instructor.
552 General Plasma Physics II
William Tang and H. Ji
Ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium, MHD energy principle,
ideal and resistive MHD stability, drift-kinetic equation,
collisions, classical and neoclassical transport, drift waves and
low-frequency instabilities, high-frequency microinstabilities, and
quasilinear theory.
553 Plasma Waves and Instabilities
Cynthia K. Phillips and Jonathan E. Menard
Waves in a cold magnetized plasma; resonances and cutoffs; energy
transport; normal modes for a hot plasma; Landau and cyclotron
damping; velocity-space instabilities; quasilinear diffusion;
propagation through an inhomogeneous plasma; mode conversion drift
waves; absolute and convective instabilities; effects of weak
collisions; and applications to plasma confinement, radio frequency
plasma heating, and magnetospheric propagation.
554 Irreversible Processes in Plasmas
Gregory W. Hammett
Fluctuations and transport in plasma, origins of irreversibility,
Fokker-Planck theory, statistical hierarchies, kinetic equations,
limiting forms of the Coulomb collision operator, test-particle
calculations, radiation, fluctuation-dissipation theorem, transport
coefficients in magnetized plasma, and Onsager relations.
Applications to current problems in plasma research.
555 Fusion Plasmas and Plasma Diagnostics
Philip C. Efthimion, Richard P. Majeski, and Michael C. Zarnstorff
This course gives an introduction to experimental plasma physics,
with an emphasis on high-temperature plasmas for fusion. Requirements
for fusion plasmas: confinement, beta, power and particle exhaust.
Tokamak fusion reactors. Status of experimental understanding: what
we know and how we know it. Key plasma diagnostic techniques:
magnetic measurements, Langmuir probes, microwave techniques,
spectroscopic techniques, electron cyclotron emission, Thomson
scattering.
556 Advanced Plasma Dynamics
Roscoe B. White
Magnetic coordinates, tokamak equilibria, Hamiltonian guiding center
formalism, transport in the presence of ripple and MHD modes,
nonlinear MHD and resistive modes, and the kinetic destabilization of
MHD modes.
557/APC 503 Analytical Techniques in Differential Equations I
Roscoe B. White
Local analysis of solutions to linear and nonlinear differential and
difference equations, asymptotic methods, asymptotic analysis of
integrals, perturbation theory, summation methods, boundary layer
theory, WKB theory, and multiple-scale theory.
558 Seminar in Plasma Physics Seminar Schedule
Ronald C. Davidson (Fall)
Nathaniel J. Fisch and Allan Reiman (Spring)
The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with current
developments in high-temperature plasma physics and fusion research.
Topics are drawn from current literature and may encompass advances in
experimental and theoretical studies of laboratory and naturally-occurring
high-temperature plasmas, including stability and transport, nonlinear
dynamics and turbulence, magnetic reconnection, self-heating of "burning"
plasmas, and innovative concepts for advanced fusion systems.
Topics may also cover advances in plasma applications, including
laser-plasma interactions, nonnuetral plasms, high-intensity accelerators,
plasma propulsion, plasma processing, and coherent electromagnetic wave
generation.
The Graduate Seminar in Plasma Physics is currently organized each
semester around special topics in experimental and theoretical plasma
physics, with recent topics including nonneutral plasmas and advanced
accelerators (Spring Semester, 1999), and magnetic reconnection in
laboratory and space plasmas (Fall Semester, 1999). Following one or two
introductory lectures by the faculty, each graduate student gives one of
the weekly seminars based on a particular published article taken from a
small repository of topical papers prepared by the faculty.
559/APC 539 Turbulence in Fluids and Plasma
John A. Krommes
A comprehensive introduction to the theory of turbulence and
transport in plasma: transition to turbulence, fundamental mechanisms
for turbulence, stochasticity; experimental observations; fundamental
equations, especially nonlinear gyrokinetics; computer simulations;
linear and nonlinear wave-particle and wave-wave interactions;
statistical closures, including the direct-interaction approximation;
variational methods. Applications to confinement of magnetized
plasma, including drift wave, tearing mode, and MHD turbulence, and
transport due to destroyed flux surfaces.
560 Computational Methods in Plasma Physics
Stephen C. Jardin
Analysis of methods for the numerical solution of the partial
differential equations of plasma physics, including those of
elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic, and eigenvalue type. Topics include
finite difference, finite element, spectral, particle-in-cell, Monte
Carlo, moving grid, and multiple-time-scale techniques, applied to
the problems of plasma equilibrium, transport, and stability.
562 Laboratory in Plasma Physics
Samuel A. Cohen
Basic concepts and experimental techniques used to measure the
properties and behavior of gaseous and solid-state plasmas.
Representative experiments include probe measurements of plasma
parameters, wave propagation and damping, microwave resonances,
electron scattering, architecture of glow discharges, and
determination of plasma temperature using atomic physics effects.
565 Physics of Nonneutral Plasmas
Ronald C. Davidson
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the physics of
nonneutral plasmas and charged particle beam systems with intense
self fields. The subject matter is developed systematically from
first principles, based on fluid, Vlasov, or Klimontovich-Maxwell
statistical descriptions as appropriate. Topics include the
development of nonlinear stability and confinement theorems;
experimental and theoretical investigations of collective waves and
instabilities; phase transitions in strongly-coupled nonneutral
plasmas; coherent electromagnetic radiation generation by free
electron lasers, cyclotron masers, and magnetrons; nonlinear
processes and chaotic particle dynamics in high-intensity
periodic-focusing accelerators; and nonlinear processes related to
compact plasma-based accelerator concepts.
501, 502 Electricity and Magnetism
Kirk McDonald
The course provides a systematic treatment of the theory of
electromagnetic phenomena from an advanced standpoint. Maxwell's
equations are discussed, with special attention given to their
physical meaning. Other topics include dielectric and magnetic media,
radiation, and scattering.
505, 506 Quantum Mechanics I
Robert Seiringer
The physical principles and mathematical formalism of quantum theory,
with an emphasis on applications to atomic, molecular, and many-body
physics; scattering phenomena; and electromagnetism (photon physics)
are studied.
507, 508 Quantum Mechanics II
Curtis G. Callan, Jr.
The course explores the principles of quantum field theory, with an
emphasis on practical applications rather than formal techniques.
Examples are drawn from many-body physics, laser physics, particle
physics, and cosmology.
511 Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics
Frederick D. Haldane and Elliot H. Lieb
The course explores the physical principles and mathematical
formalism of statistical mechanics, with an emphasis on applications
to thermodynamics, condensed matter physics, physical chemistry,
biophysics, astrophysics, etc.
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