Ebook: Spontaneous current sheets in magnetic fields : with applications to stellar x-rays

Provides a complete introduction to plasma physics as taught in a 1-year graduate course. Covers all important topics of plasma theory, omitting no mathematical steps in derivations. Covers solitons, parametric instabilities, weak turbulence theory, and more. Includes exercises and problems which apply theories to practical examples. 4 of the 10 chapters do not include complex variables and can be used for a 1-semester senior level undergraduate course 1. Introduction -- 2. The Field Equations -- 3. Invariance, Degeneracy, and Continuous Solutions -- 4. Formal Structure of the Magnetostatic Equations -- 5. Direct Integration of Equilibrium Equations -- 6. Examples of Field Discontinuities -- 7. The Optical Analogy -- 8. Topology of Tangential Discontinuities -- 9. Fluid Motions -- 10. Effects of Resistivity -- 11. Solar X-Ray Emission -- 12. Universal Nanoflares