慧星等离子物理

The recent advances of comctary physics are outlined.     

Space Plasma Phenomena : Laboratory Modeling I. Fields,Streams, Matter in Plasma

Earth, Moon, and Planets -     

Plasma Physics in Astronomy and Cosmology

We discuss some of the major areas in astronomy and cosmology where plasma physics is important: (1) origin of stars; (2) distortions of the microwave background radiation; (3) expansion rate of the Early Universe; (4) the magnetic fields and relativistic electrons in jets; (5) the collimation of jets; (6) the origin of stellar winds; (7) the origin of filaments and clouds not gravitationally bound; and (8) the origin of cosmic rays.     

Major Unsolved Problems in Space Plasma Physics

There are many space plasma physics problems that are both majorand unsolved, there are other problems for which the categorization of solved or unsolved depends on one's point of view, and there are still other problems that are well understood but unsolved in the sense that quantitative predictions cannot be made although the basic physics is known. The following discussion will, of necessity, be limited and selective. The nature of the Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind remains a major unsolved mystery: Why is the power spectrum of this anisotropic, compressible, magnetofluid often Kolmogoroff-like, with a power spectral index close to the -5/3 value characteristic of normal fluids? What is the three-dimensional symmetry of the turbulence? Are the magnetic fields quasi-two-dimensional and stochastic, or have they been highly refracted by small velocity shears? What is the origin of the -1 slope of the energy containing scales? What is the relationship between the turbulent fields and the diffusion coefficients for energetic particle transport parallel and perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field? A general problem in turbulence research is the relationship between the fluid approximation and the kinetic physics that describes the dissipation and damping of fluctuations. There is still much to learn about solar flares, coronal mass ejections and magnetospheric substorms. Another major puzzle is how to quantitatively describe the interaction of the solar wind with the interstellar medium; a problem probably not amenable to solution using fluid equations.     

Plasma Kinetic Theory I

Plasma kinetic theory is based on the Atomic Hypothesis as well as two branches of physics with different definitions of the concept of force: Gas dynamics (pressure on impact forces) and Electromagnetism (action at distance forces). A brief historical background of the above branches is given and the average force exerted on a test particle of the plasma is calculated in 1, 2 and 3 dimensions both for pressure on impact and action at distance models.     

The Physics and Chemistry of Sputtering by Energetic Plasma Ions

Energetic ions from the solar wind, local pick-up ions or magnetospheric plasma ions impact the atmospheres and surfaces of a number of solar system bodies. These energetic incident ions deposit energy in the gas or solid. This can lead to the ejection of atoms and molecules, a process referred to as sputtering. In this paper we first describe the physics and chemistry of atmospheric and surface sputtering. We then apply this to the production of a thin atmosphere on Europa by magnetospheric ion bombardment of Europa's surface and show that Europa loses more Na atoms than it receives from the Jupiter magnetosphere. The loss of atmosphere from Mars in earlier epochs by pick-up ion sputtering of that atmosphere is also calculated. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.