2017 | Plasma Physics - TOKYO TECH OCW

Undergraduate
Graduate

2017　Plasma Physics

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Academic unit or major: Undergraduate major in Physics

Instructor(s): Kawamura Toru

Class Format: Lecture

Media-enhanced courses

Day/Period(Room No.): Mon9-10(H116) Thr9-10(H116)

Group: -

Course number: PHY.C344

Credits: 2

Academic year: 2017

Offered quarter: 4Q

Syllabus updated: 2017/3/17

Lecture notes updated: -

Language used: Japanese

Access Index

Syllabus

Course description and aims

　The course is to achieve good comprehension of fundamentals of plasma physics with the elements of mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics, and so on taken in undergraduate curriculum. In the course, the issues on single charged particle and collective plasma-fluid motions in electromagnetic field are given in the former half, and the latter is devoted to generation of waves in plasma.
　The physics of plasma has been growing up to be an important issue in the studies of fusion plasma, plasma-processing relevant to semiconductor manufacturing, in addition to those of the auroral ionosphere and space plasma, being indispensable for interpretation of complex physical phenomena in the fields. The course of plasma physics is for beginners and helps them gain improved comprehension of the complex-system sciences mentioned above.

Student learning outcomes

The course aims at achieving the fundamentals of plasma physics. The students will learn and understand fundamental collective phenomena caused by charged particles in plasma.

Keywords

debye shielding, drift motion, plasma frequency, electron plasma waves, ion acoustic waves, upper and lower hybrid oscillations, electrostatic ion cyclotron waves, ordinary and extraordinary waves, R- and L-waves, ambipolar diffusion, magnetohydrodynamic equations, Boltzmann equation, Landau damping

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills

Intercultural skills

Communication skills

Critical thinking skills

✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

The course is held with a textbook directed below. Some additional contents will be complemented with a book for reference if necessary.

Course schedule/Required learning

	Course schedule	Required learning
Class 1	Debye shielding, Criteria for plasma	Explain basic parameters describing plasma.
Class 2	Single charged particle motion -1- : Drift motion in spatially uniform electromagnetic field, Drift motion in spatially nonuniform magnetic field.	Explain the drift motion of a charged particle in directed electromagnetic field.
Class 3	Single charged particle motion -2- : Drift motion in spatially nonuniform electric field, Drift motion in time varying electric field.	Explain the drift motion of a charged particle in directed electric field.
Class 4	Plasma as fluid -1- : Dielectric constant of plasma, Plasma fluid equations (1)	Explain fluid equations self-consistently describing electromagnetic field and plasma motion.
Class 5	Plasma as fluid -2- : Plasma fluid equations (2), Drift motion of plasma fluid perpendicular (parallel) to magnetic field.	Explain the drift motion of plasma fluid in magnetic field.
Class 6	Waves in plasma -1- : Plasma oscillations, Waves in plasma without magnetic field (transverse waves).	Explain the propagation characteristics of transverse waves in plasma without external magnetic field.
Class 7	Waves in plasma -2- : Waves in plasma without magnetic field (longitudinal waves) - Electron plasma waves, Ion acoustic waves -	Explain the propagation characteristics of electron-plasma and ion-acoustic waves.
Class 8	Waves in plasma -3- : Waves in plasma perpendicular to magnetic field - Upper and lower hybrid oscillations, Electrostatic ion cyclotron waves -	Explain the propagation characteristics of upper / lower hybrid oscillations and electrostatic ion cyclotron waves.
Class 9	Waves in plasma -4- : Waves in plasma perpendicular to magnetic field - Ordinary and extraordinary waves, Cutoff and resonance frequencies -	Explain the propagation characteristics of ordinary and extraordinary waves, in addition, cutoff and resonance frequencies.
Class 10	Waves in plasma -5- : Waves in plasma parallel to magnetic field - R- and L-waves (including whistler and Alfvén waves) -	Explain the propagation characteristics of R- and L-waves.
Class 11	Diffusion in plasma : Diffusion coefficient and mobility, Ambipolar diffusion.	Explain the ambipolar diffusion.
Class 12	Collisions in fully ionized plasma -1- : Collision frequency and plasma resistivity.	Explain the relation between a collision frequency and a plasma resistivity.
Class 13	Collisions in fully ionized plasma -2- : Large- and small angle scatterings.	Explain the Coulomb logarithm.
Class 14	Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations of fully ionized plasma.	The MHD equations describe plasma phenomena involving waves with low-frequencies. Derive a requirement for velocity of plasma fluid.
Class 15	Introduction to plasma kinetic theory : Boltzmann equation and fluid equation, Landau damping.	Explain a reason why electron plasma waves are affected by the Landau damping at the phase velocity nearly equal to thermal velocity of plasma.

Textbook(s)

T. Uchida (translator), Introduction to Plasma Physics, Maruzen Co., Ltd (Japanese edition).

Reference books, course materials, etc.

M. Ogasawara, T. Kato　(joint translators), Fundamentals of plasma physics, Maruzen Co., Ltd (Japanese edition).
(English edition：Dwight R. Nicholson, Introduction to Plasma Theory, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Assessment criteria and methods

Learning achievement on the fundamental plasma phenomena is evaluated by a final exam and some mini-exams occasionally held in the course.

Related courses

None.

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

No prerequisites.

Other

None.

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