Physics Of The Hot Plasma In The Magnetosphere

Nobel Symposium No. 30 on the Physics of the Hot Plasma in the Magnetosphere was held at Kiruna Geophysical Institute, Kiruna, Sweden from April 2-4, 1975. Some 40 leading experts from America, USSR, and Western Europe attended the Symposium. The purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss the physics of the hot plasma in the magnetosphere with special empha sis on unsolved problems on which attention needs to be focused during the International Magnetospheric Study 1976-1978. The field is very extensive and complete coverage of all aspects was of course not possible. The radiation belts proper were, for instance, not covered. There were no formal contributed papers, but much time was devoted to discussion. These proceedings contain all review papers except the one by R.Z. Sagdeev. They are ordered by subject, starting, after the introductory lecture, with the problem of how the plasma enters the magnetosphere and ending with the question of the interaction with the ionosphere. The Organizing Committee for the symposium was composed of the following Swedish scientists: E.-A. Brunberg, C.G. Fa1thammar, I. Hu1then, B. Hu1tqvist (chairman), L. Stenf10, and H. Wilhe1msson. The Symposium was financed by the Nobel Foundation through grants from the Tercentenary Foundation of the Bank of Sweden, by the Swedish Board for Space Activities, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which is gratefully acknowledged. Appreciated contributions "in natura" were also received from the town of Kiruna and the LKAB Company.

This book is a study of plasma waves which are observed in the earth's magnetosphere. The emphasis is on a thorough, but concise, treatment of the necessary theory and the use of this theory to understand the manifold varieties of waves which are observed by ground-based instruments and by satellites. We restrict our treatment to waves with wavelengths short compared with the spatial scales of the background plasma in the mag netosphere. By so doing we exclude large scale magnetohydrodynamic phenomena such as ULF pulsations in the Pc2-5 ranges. The field is an active one and we cannot hope to discuss every wave phenomenon ever observed in the magnetosphere! We try instead to give a good treatment of phenomena which are well understood, and which illustrate as many different parts of the theory as possible. It is thus hoped to put the reader in a position to understand the current literature. The treatment is aimed at a beginning graduate student in the field but it is hoped that it will also be of use as a reference to established workers. A knowledge of electromagnetic theory and some elementary plasma physics is assumed. The mathematical background required in cludes a knowledge of vector calculus, linear algebra, and Fourier trans form theory encountered in standard undergraduate physics curricula. A reasonable acquaintance with the theory of functions of a complex vari able including contour integration and the residue theorem is assumed.

The book provides an extensive theoretical treatment of whistler-mode propagation, instabilities and damping in a hot, anisotropic and collisionless plasma. Most of the results are original and have never been published in a monograph on a similar subject before.

Solar and space physics is the study of solar system phenomena that occur in the plasma state. Examples include sunspots, the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, radiation belts, and the aurora. While each is a distinct phenomenon, there are commonalities among them. To help define and systematize these universal aspects of the field of space physics, the National Research Council was asked by NASA's Office of Space Science to provide a scientific assessment and strategy for the study of magnetized plasmas in the solar system. This report presents that assessment. It covers a number of important research goals for solar and space physics. The report is complementary to the NRC report, The Sun to the Earthâ€"and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy for Solar and Space Physics, which presents priorities and strategies for future program activities.

A valuable reference work for those doing research in magnetospheric physics and related disciplines.

The Magnetospheric Experiments Working Group was established by NASA-MSC to study experiments that might be performed by the Plasma Physics and Environmental Perturbation Laboratory (PPEPL).