Lections on plasma theory are part of a program “Advances and Applications in Plasma Physics”, This is an advanced course and students are supposed to be familiar with basics of plasma physics in the framework of introductory courses like “Introduction to Plasma Physics” and “Elementary Processes in Plasma”. Lectures on plasma theory are planned for two semesters. In the first semester students study kinetic theory and transport processes in plasma, while the second semester is devoted to plasma dynamics, including MHD theory, equilibrium and stability. More advanced problems like neoclassical theory, stochastization of the magnetic field, edge plasma physics are also considered. Waves in plasma are not included in this course and should be studied separately. Considered are only low frequency waves and instabilities which are closely connected with the dynamics and transport of plasma, like MHD and drift waves. Plasma kinetics is the basic part of plasma theory. The distinctive feature of this course compared to most courses on plasma physics is that phenomena in both low and high temperature plasma are considered simultaneously so that theory of slightly ionized and fully ionized plasmas are presented. Therefore, this course might be useful for wide auditorium of students and specialists working in different areas like nuclear fusion, gas discharge physics and low temperature plasma applications, space and astrophysics etc.

• Plasma Kinetics
• 1.1. Boltzmann Equation
• 1.2. Collision operator for Coulomb collisions
  • 1.2.1 General expression for a flow in the velocity space caused by collisions
  • 1.2.2 Deceleration and diffusion of test particles cloud in the velocity space
  • 1.2.3 Momentum an energy losses of the test particles
• 1.2.4 Landau collision operator
• 1.3 Collision operator in the relativistic case
• 1.4. Fokker-Planck equation
• 1.5. Runaway electrons in fully ionized plasma
• 1.6. Distribution function of electrons in slightly ionized plasma
  • 1.6.1 Approximation
  • 1.6.2 Distribution function in the electric field
  • 1.6.3 Impact of electron-electron collisions
  • 1.6.4 General expression for
• 1.7. Transport coefficients for electrons in slightly ionized plasma
• 1.8. Drift kinetic equation in a stationary electric and magnetic fields
• 1.9. Gyrokinetic equation
• Литература