Ebook: Astrophysical Plasmas and Fluids

Life was simple when the dynamic, the spectral and the resolving powers of our instruments were small. One observed whole objects - planets, stars, sunspots, galaxies, often in rainbow colours. Then the revolution occurred: we acquired the centimetric eyes, the mil­ limetric eyes, the infrared eyes, the ultraviolet eyes, the X-ray eyes and the ,-ray eyes. With these we see mottles on the surface of stars, streams in sunspots, and spirals in nuclei of galaxies. We see regions of multiple mass densities and temperatures in a precari­ ous balance, losing it occasionally, exhaling flares. The universe is timed, cosmic phenomena are clocked; eternity is lost and variabil­ ity is bought. Microarcsecond resolutions revealed stirring and siz­ zling interiors underneath serene surfaces. Short durations and small scales demanded employing a discipline with similar attributes - the discipline of Plasmas and Fluids - known more for its complexity than for its felicity. Some would like to wish it away. We shall learn about plasmas for it is too little familiarity that breeds fear. Complexity can be systemized, to a large extent, by looking for a common denominator among apparently disparate phe­ nomena. It is not immediately obvious what the contents and the style of a graduate level course on plasmas and fluids aimed at understanding astrophysical phenomena should be. Plasmas and fluids are huge subjects by themselves. The cosmic phenomena where plasmas and fluids playa definite role are equally diverse and numerous.

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This book is a valuable introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids for graduate students of astronomy preparing either for a research career in the field or just aspiring to achieve a decent degree of familiarity with 99% of the cosmos.
The contents provide a true representation of the phenomenal diversity of dominant roles that plasmas and fluids play in the near and far reaches of the universe. The breadth of coverage of basic physical processes is a particularly attractive feature of this textbook. By first using the Liouville equation to derive the kinetic, the two-fluid and single-fluid, descriptions of a plasma and a fluid, and then demonstrating the use of these descriptions for specific situations in the rest of the book, the author has probably chosen the most efficient way of handling this large technical subject. The two major astrophysical issues, fluid or plasma configurations and their radiative signatures, figure prominently throughout the book. The problems are designed to give the reader a feel for the quantitative properties of celestial objects.

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This book is a valuable introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids for graduate students of astronomy preparing either for a research career in the field or just aspiring to achieve a decent degree of familiarity with 99% of the cosmos.
The contents provide a true representation of the phenomenal diversity of dominant roles that plasmas and fluids play in the near and far reaches of the universe. The breadth of coverage of basic physical processes is a particularly attractive feature of this textbook. By first using the Liouville equation to derive the kinetic, the two-fluid and single-fluid, descriptions of a plasma and a fluid, and then demonstrating the use of these descriptions for specific situations in the rest of the book, the author has probably chosen the most efficient way of handling this large technical subject. The two major astrophysical issues, fluid or plasma configurations and their radiative signatures, figure prominently throughout the book. The problems are designed to give the reader a feel for the quantitative properties of celestial objects.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Plasma — The Universal State of Matter....Pages 1-39
Statistical Description of a Many-Body System....Pages 41-78
Particle and Fluid Motions in Gravitational and Electromagnetic Fields....Pages 79-115
Magnetohydrodynamics of Conducting Fluids....Pages 117-195
Two-Fluid Description of Plasmas....Pages 197-234
Kinetic Description of Plasmas....Pages 235-267
Nonconducting Astrophysical Fluids....Pages 269-336
Physical Constants....Pages 337-337
Astrophysical Quantities....Pages 339-342
Differential Operators....Pages 343-344
Characteristic Numbers for Fluids....Pages 345-346
Acknowledgment for Figures....Pages 347-347
Back Matter....Pages 349-358

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This book is a valuable introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids for graduate students of astronomy preparing either for a research career in the field or just aspiring to achieve a decent degree of familiarity with 99% of the cosmos.
The contents provide a true representation of the phenomenal diversity of dominant roles that plasmas and fluids play in the near and far reaches of the universe. The breadth of coverage of basic physical processes is a particularly attractive feature of this textbook. By first using the Liouville equation to derive the kinetic, the two-fluid and single-fluid, descriptions of a plasma and a fluid, and then demonstrating the use of these descriptions for specific situations in the rest of the book, the author has probably chosen the most efficient way of handling this large technical subject. The two major astrophysical issues, fluid or plasma configurations and their radiative signatures, figure prominently throughout the book. The problems are designed to give the reader a feel for the quantitative properties of celestial objects.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Plasma — The Universal State of Matter....Pages 1-39
Statistical Description of a Many-Body System....Pages 41-78
Particle and Fluid Motions in Gravitational and Electromagnetic Fields....Pages 79-115
Magnetohydrodynamics of Conducting Fluids....Pages 117-195
Two-Fluid Description of Plasmas....Pages 197-234
Kinetic Description of Plasmas....Pages 235-267
Nonconducting Astrophysical Fluids....Pages 269-336
Physical Constants....Pages 337-337
Astrophysical Quantities....Pages 339-342
Differential Operators....Pages 343-344
Characteristic Numbers for Fluids....Pages 345-346
Acknowledgment for Figures....Pages 347-347
Back Matter....Pages 349-358
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