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Theory of space plasma microinstabilities
Book reviews Environmental Effects on Spacecraft Positioning and Trajectories, Geophysical Monograph Volume 73, I U G G Volume 13, Vallance Jones, A., ed., 1993, 184 pp, American Geophysical Union. $39.00, hbk. ISBN 0-87590-464-5. One practical use of an understanding of solar-terrestrial physics is the ability to analyse the diverse effects of solarterrestrial phenomena on the operation of satellites and spacecraft for the benefit of mankind. Within that broad remit is a narrower objective, that of determining the positions and orbits of satellites as exactly as possible in order to use them for navigation, geophysics and oceanography. Both the neutral and ionised components of the terrestrial atmosphere play crucial roles--for example, satellite drag forces vary significantly because of the changing atmospheric density and winds. This book consists of invited review and contributed papers, 14 in all, presented at the IUGG General Assembly held in Vienna in August 1991. The first sentence of the very first paper, by T. P. Yunck (JPL) is "The neutral atmosphere and its ionization products have long been impediments in space geodesy". Such an assertive sentence sets the scene for this useful book on the current state of knowledge in the field. That paper introduces the effects of total electron content (TEC) and atmospheric humidity on Global Positioning System (GPS) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) studies. S. Quegan (Sheffield) follows this by reviewing ionospheric models, both empirical and physically based, of relevance to GPS and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. The effects of horizontal gradients of ionisation are treated by R. Leitinger (Graz), and Y.-N. Huang (Taipei) uses both differential Doppler observations from polar orbiting satellites and Faraday rotation data from a geostationary satellite. T. Kondo and M. Imae (Kashima) consider twofrequency observations for VLBI investigations using twofrequency TEC estimates from GPS measurements; however, directional variations are still a problem. P. Escudier et al. (Toulouse) discuss height corrections using a global TEC model and DORIS Doppler data, and Nouel et al. (also Toulouse) study drag effects on the SPOT2 satellite as measured by the DORIS tracking system. Tropospheric water vapour effects are well reviewed by G. Hartmann (Lindau). T. L. Killeen et al. (Michigan) comprehensively review thermospheric processes (winds, gravity waves, tides) affecting satellite drag, and how they vary with local time, season, solar cycle, geomagnetic activity, altitude and latitude. This interest is perhaps most clearly brought to the attention of the public when premature reentry of orbiting vehicles occurs due to unexpected increases in atmospheric density associated with high solar activity. While such drastic events are fairly rare, the precision of routine tracking and orbit prediction are of great and continuing importance for many operational systems. J. C. Reis et al. (Texas) introduce solar and terrestrial radiation pressure effects. Neutral gas, thermal and electric drag forces acting on high altitude U.S. LAGEOS and Soviet ETALON geodetic sal:ellites tracked by laser are considered by F. Barlier and F. Mignard (Grasse), while C. Berger and F. Barlier (Grasse) discuss a proposed mission based on gravity gradient measnrements to investigate variations (with a horizontal scale ~ hundreds km) of the Earth's gravity field. M. N. Vlasov (Moscow) reports a physically based, time dependent, ionospheric model to calculate thermospheric
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and ionospheric parameters and hence to make predictions of the evolution of satellites' orbits. Finally, R. C. Sagalyn and S. A. Bowhill (Massachusetts) interestingly review recent progress in predicting geomagnetic storms, emphasising coronal mass ejections--these really require all Solar Terrestrial Energy Program (STEP) projects to be solved at a stroke, and to make the uncertainties reported in this entire book disappear. I find this book to be full of useful and up-to-date information on the vicissitudes of the atmosphere as they affect satellites in Earth orbit. M. J. RYCROFT Cranfield University
Theory of Space Plasma Microinstabilities, Gary S. Peter, 1993, 181 pp. Cambridge University Press. £30 hbk, $49.95. ISBN 0-52143-167-0. Numerous experimental data on wave and charged particle phenomena in the near-Earth space and interplanetary plasma now demand a wider understanding and utilization of plasma theory achievements. Applications of these achievements are restricted by a lack of special educational books for geophysicists, devoted to various aspects of space plasma physics. This book by Peter Gary belongs to this kind of book, and that is its main advantage. One of its outstanding strengths is that it is carefully written for teachers, rather than to impress the experts in the field. The author carefully introduces the reader into the formalism and terminology of the linear theory of plasma waves and instabilities. He chooses a rather simple but important case for consideration, i.e. nonrelativistic plasmas and Maxwellian particle distributions with temperature anisotropy and/or drift motion. This choice permits the discussion of wave mode properties to be restricted to an amount that is reasonable for an initial reading on the subject. The book is organized systematically, and several training problems are supplied by the author; all of this makes it a very good introduction to the topic. The particular content of the book includes a linear analysis of those microinstabilities that are important for space plasmas. Among these are current-driven, beam-plasma and anisotropic instabilities, electrostatic and electromagnetic instabilities, in isotropic and magnetoactive plasmas, as well as gradient-driven drift instabilities. For the chosen form of the distribution function, explicit formulae for the dielectric tensor are presented which may be useful handbook information for developing numerical calculations. A significant number of calculated examples permits the reader to figure out the evolution of the characteristics of stable and unstable wave modes for well-known limiting cases, which are amenable to simple analytic treatment, and to parameter regions where analytic simplifications are impossible. Each section of the book ends with a short discussion of possible applications of the theory to particular wave phenomena in the near-Earth plasma and in the solar wind. These applications, of course, do not cover the whole variety of experimental data, but an interested reader can extend the results to other phenomena. From the point of view of plasma theory, Peter Gary's book can serve as a first important step in understanding more complicated linear and nonlinear theories, in particular those presented in 'Basic Plasma Physics' (Handbook of Plasma Physics; vol. 1,2), under the general edi-
324
Book reviews
torship of M. N. Rosenbluth and R. Z. Sagdeev (NorthHolland Publishers, 1984). I am pleased to recommend this book to the wide audience of both students and qualified researchers who are interested in space plasma physics. VICTOR TRAKHTENGERTS
Institute of Applied Physics Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Plasma Physics : An Introductory Course, Dendy R. O. (ed.), 1993, 513 pp. Cambridge University Press. £60.00 hbk, $99.95. ISBN 0-521-43309-6. An immediately appealing feature of this new book is its cover, boldly displaying, in colour on a black background, the aurora, an X-ray image of the Sun, a tokamak plasma and an image of an unstable laser-illuminated plasma. Its content is even more attractive. For the last 30 yr, international summer schools in plasma physics have been held at Culham Laboratory, in Oxfordshire. Culham is the United Kingdom centre for research in magnetically confined fusion plasmas, and is the site of the Joint European Torus. This book has been developed from lectures given at these schools, and provides a wide-ranging introduction to the theoretical and experimental study of plasmas and their applications. Since no prior knowledge of plasma physics is assumed, this book will act as an ideal introduction to the subject for final year undergraduates and graduate students in physics, astronomy, mathematics and engineering. From any student's point of view, it is a carefully prepared book, starting with a comprehensive list of the notation used, the fundamental equations in SI units, important numerical values, and key vector results. Throughout it is a lucidly, and interestingly, written book with very clear diagrams on the fourth state of matter, which is firmly based on aspects of the physics of gases, fluids and solids plus Maxwell's equations and the expression for the Lorentz force acting on a charged particle. The first four chapters are on fundamentals, namely the dynamics of charged particles (adiabatic invariants, Coulomb collisions and Debye screening), kinetic theory (Boltzmann, Vlasov and Fokker-Planck equations, fluid equations and Landau damping), waves (in a cold, magnetized plasma, CMA diagrams, magnetosonic waves and the two-stream instability) and M H D (concepts, equilibrium, stability and nonlinear tearing mode instability). The next three chapters develop theoretical ideas of turbulence (resistive M H D or single-fluid plasma theory), nonlinear phenomena and chaos and computational plasma physics--that is an especially valuabl e chapter. Man-made and natural plasmas are covered in the next five chapters on tokamaks, space plasmas (planetary magnetospheres, solar wind, bow shock, acceleration mechanisms and active experiments), solar plasmas, astrophysical plasmas bound together by gravity and laser-produced plasmas. Finally there are six chapters on the many applications of plasmas in industry, toroidal devices, radio-frequency
heating, boundary plasmas, tokamak engineering issues and fusion plasmas. This fine text closes with a sufficiently comprehensive index. In the next 10 yr, this excellent book deserves to become, not a standard, but a classic. M. J. RYCROFT Cranfield University
The Physics of Stars, Phillips A. C., 1994, 208 pp. John Wiley & Sons Limited. £17.95 pbk, ISBN 0-471-94155-7. This concise book, in the well known Manchester Physics Series, covers the physical fundamentals of astrophysics well for final year undergraduates. The author states in his preface that "the first chapter intrpduces basic astrophysical concepts using elementary physical ideas which should be familiar to students pursuing a course on stars." Subsequent chapters rely on more advanced physical ideas which are normally met in the latter part of an undergraduate course. These ideas are carefully explained before they are applied. The properties of matter and radiation are considered in chapter 2, heat transfer in chapter 3, thermonuclear fusion in chapter 4, stellar structure in chapter 5, and the end-points of stellar evolution, namely white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, in chapter 6." At the end of each chapter, there is an excellent summary and "there are a number of problems aimed at testing understanding and extending knowledge. Hints for the solution of these problems are given at the end of the book." This is an accurate straightforward description of the contents of a well balanced and very well written book. The diagrams and mathematical treatments are particularly lucid throughout. Chapter 1 starts as follows : "The aim of this book is to explore the properties of stellar interiors and hence understand the structure and evolution of stars. This exercise is largely based on the application of thermal and nuclear physics to matter and radiation at high temperatures and pressures." It jumps in with a clear resum6 of the big bang origin of the universe, the synthesis of helium, gravitational contraction, conditions for stardom (!), the Sun, stellar nucleosynthesis and life cycles, and the H - R diagram. Starting with a discussion of ideal gas properties, chapter 2 quickly goes on to the degenerate electron gas, the photon gas, Saha's equation, stellar ionisation and electron-positron pair production. Heat transfer via conduction and convection are covered in chapter 3, with the next chapter dealing with hydrogen, helium and further stages of nuclear burning. Models of main sequence stars like the Sun are discussed in chapter 5, leading to the final chapter on Chandrasekhar's maximum value for the mass of a white dwarf star (1.4 × the solar mass) ; the collapse of a stellar core giving birth to a neutron star and the pulsar or, if the mass is > 5 x the solar mass, a black hole. These are the two end-points of stellar evolution. I believe that students will find this to be a most appealing book. M. J. RYCROFT
Cranfield University
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and ionospheric parameters and hence to make predictions of the evolution of satellites' orbits. Finally, R. C. Sagalyn and S. A. Bowhill (Massachusetts) interestingly review recent progress in predicting geomagnetic storms, emphasising coronal mass ejections--these really require all Solar Terrestrial Energy Program (STEP) projects to be solved at a stroke, and to make the uncertainties reported in this entire book disappear. I find this book to be full of useful and up-to-date information on the vicissitudes of the atmosphere as they affect satellites in Earth orbit. M. J. RYCROFT Cranfield University
Theory of Space Plasma Microinstabilities, Gary S. Peter, 1993, 181 pp. Cambridge University Press. £30 hbk, $49.95. ISBN 0-52143-167-0. Numerous experimental data on wave and charged particle phenomena in the near-Earth space and interplanetary plasma now demand a wider understanding and utilization of plasma theory achievements. Applications of these achievements are restricted by a lack of special educational books for geophysicists, devoted to various aspects of space plasma physics. This book by Peter Gary belongs to this kind of book, and that is its main advantage. One of its outstanding strengths is that it is carefully written for teachers, rather than to impress the experts in the field. The author carefully introduces the reader into the formalism and terminology of the linear theory of plasma waves and instabilities. He chooses a rather simple but important case for consideration, i.e. nonrelativistic plasmas and Maxwellian particle distributions with temperature anisotropy and/or drift motion. This choice permits the discussion of wave mode properties to be restricted to an amount that is reasonable for an initial reading on the subject. The book is organized systematically, and several training problems are supplied by the author; all of this makes it a very good introduction to the topic. The particular content of the book includes a linear analysis of those microinstabilities that are important for space plasmas. Among these are current-driven, beam-plasma and anisotropic instabilities, electrostatic and electromagnetic instabilities, in isotropic and magnetoactive plasmas, as well as gradient-driven drift instabilities. For the chosen form of the distribution function, explicit formulae for the dielectric tensor are presented which may be useful handbook information for developing numerical calculations. A significant number of calculated examples permits the reader to figure out the evolution of the characteristics of stable and unstable wave modes for well-known limiting cases, which are amenable to simple analytic treatment, and to parameter regions where analytic simplifications are impossible. Each section of the book ends with a short discussion of possible applications of the theory to particular wave phenomena in the near-Earth plasma and in the solar wind. These applications, of course, do not cover the whole variety of experimental data, but an interested reader can extend the results to other phenomena. From the point of view of plasma theory, Peter Gary's book can serve as a first important step in understanding more complicated linear and nonlinear theories, in particular those presented in 'Basic Plasma Physics' (Handbook of Plasma Physics; vol. 1,2), under the general edi-
324
Book reviews
torship of M. N. Rosenbluth and R. Z. Sagdeev (NorthHolland Publishers, 1984). I am pleased to recommend this book to the wide audience of both students and qualified researchers who are interested in space plasma physics. VICTOR TRAKHTENGERTS
Institute of Applied Physics Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Plasma Physics : An Introductory Course, Dendy R. O. (ed.), 1993, 513 pp. Cambridge University Press. £60.00 hbk, $99.95. ISBN 0-521-43309-6. An immediately appealing feature of this new book is its cover, boldly displaying, in colour on a black background, the aurora, an X-ray image of the Sun, a tokamak plasma and an image of an unstable laser-illuminated plasma. Its content is even more attractive. For the last 30 yr, international summer schools in plasma physics have been held at Culham Laboratory, in Oxfordshire. Culham is the United Kingdom centre for research in magnetically confined fusion plasmas, and is the site of the Joint European Torus. This book has been developed from lectures given at these schools, and provides a wide-ranging introduction to the theoretical and experimental study of plasmas and their applications. Since no prior knowledge of plasma physics is assumed, this book will act as an ideal introduction to the subject for final year undergraduates and graduate students in physics, astronomy, mathematics and engineering. From any student's point of view, it is a carefully prepared book, starting with a comprehensive list of the notation used, the fundamental equations in SI units, important numerical values, and key vector results. Throughout it is a lucidly, and interestingly, written book with very clear diagrams on the fourth state of matter, which is firmly based on aspects of the physics of gases, fluids and solids plus Maxwell's equations and the expression for the Lorentz force acting on a charged particle. The first four chapters are on fundamentals, namely the dynamics of charged particles (adiabatic invariants, Coulomb collisions and Debye screening), kinetic theory (Boltzmann, Vlasov and Fokker-Planck equations, fluid equations and Landau damping), waves (in a cold, magnetized plasma, CMA diagrams, magnetosonic waves and the two-stream instability) and M H D (concepts, equilibrium, stability and nonlinear tearing mode instability). The next three chapters develop theoretical ideas of turbulence (resistive M H D or single-fluid plasma theory), nonlinear phenomena and chaos and computational plasma physics--that is an especially valuabl e chapter. Man-made and natural plasmas are covered in the next five chapters on tokamaks, space plasmas (planetary magnetospheres, solar wind, bow shock, acceleration mechanisms and active experiments), solar plasmas, astrophysical plasmas bound together by gravity and laser-produced plasmas. Finally there are six chapters on the many applications of plasmas in industry, toroidal devices, radio-frequency
heating, boundary plasmas, tokamak engineering issues and fusion plasmas. This fine text closes with a sufficiently comprehensive index. In the next 10 yr, this excellent book deserves to become, not a standard, but a classic. M. J. RYCROFT Cranfield University
The Physics of Stars, Phillips A. C., 1994, 208 pp. John Wiley & Sons Limited. £17.95 pbk, ISBN 0-471-94155-7. This concise book, in the well known Manchester Physics Series, covers the physical fundamentals of astrophysics well for final year undergraduates. The author states in his preface that "the first chapter intrpduces basic astrophysical concepts using elementary physical ideas which should be familiar to students pursuing a course on stars." Subsequent chapters rely on more advanced physical ideas which are normally met in the latter part of an undergraduate course. These ideas are carefully explained before they are applied. The properties of matter and radiation are considered in chapter 2, heat transfer in chapter 3, thermonuclear fusion in chapter 4, stellar structure in chapter 5, and the end-points of stellar evolution, namely white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, in chapter 6." At the end of each chapter, there is an excellent summary and "there are a number of problems aimed at testing understanding and extending knowledge. Hints for the solution of these problems are given at the end of the book." This is an accurate straightforward description of the contents of a well balanced and very well written book. The diagrams and mathematical treatments are particularly lucid throughout. Chapter 1 starts as follows : "The aim of this book is to explore the properties of stellar interiors and hence understand the structure and evolution of stars. This exercise is largely based on the application of thermal and nuclear physics to matter and radiation at high temperatures and pressures." It jumps in with a clear resum6 of the big bang origin of the universe, the synthesis of helium, gravitational contraction, conditions for stardom (!), the Sun, stellar nucleosynthesis and life cycles, and the H - R diagram. Starting with a discussion of ideal gas properties, chapter 2 quickly goes on to the degenerate electron gas, the photon gas, Saha's equation, stellar ionisation and electron-positron pair production. Heat transfer via conduction and convection are covered in chapter 3, with the next chapter dealing with hydrogen, helium and further stages of nuclear burning. Models of main sequence stars like the Sun are discussed in chapter 5, leading to the final chapter on Chandrasekhar's maximum value for the mass of a white dwarf star (1.4 × the solar mass) ; the collapse of a stellar core giving birth to a neutron star and the pulsar or, if the mass is > 5 x the solar mass, a black hole. These are the two end-points of stellar evolution. I believe that students will find this to be a most appealing book. M. J. RYCROFT
Cranfield University