course ID

Lecturer

CFU

6

Length

14 Weeks

Semester DD

Second

Course details

Introduction to plasmas. Particle motions in electromagnetic fields and adiabatic invariants. Collision theory in plasmas. Statitical description and Klimontovich's equation for plasmas: from kinetic to fluid description. Magnetohydrodynamic equations. Conditions for the hydromagnetic equilibrium: Force-free equilibrium, equilibrium condition of Ferraro and equation of Grad-Shafranov. Plasma instabilities. Magnetohydrodynamic waves. Plasma waves. Hints on magnetic helicity and topologies. Introduction to magnetic reconnection and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.

Objectives

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
To acquire the basic notions on the description of the space and laboratory plasmas: particle motion in electromagnetic fields, kinetic and fluid description of plasmas, magnetohydrodynamics description, plasma waves and instabilities. Some advanced concepts on the evolution and description of out-of-equilibrium plasmas: magnetic reconnectiona nd magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
basic principles and phenomenology of space (astrophysics) and laboratory plasma

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
to apply the basic principles of the plasma physics to get a quantitative description of the observed phenomena

MAKING JUDGEMENTS:
capacity to extract independently the fundamental information on the plasma dynamics and to be capable of discerning the relevance of the works in the specific field.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
capacity to describe the phenomenology and the influence of plasma dynamycs on the natural processes in space, astrophysics and laboratory to both a specialized and not-specialized audience

LEARNING SKILLS:
capacity to unterstand the importance of the different elements determining the dynamics of space, astrophysics and laboratory plasmas.