Cosmology

The first semester will cover such topics as the motion of charged particles in electromagnetic fields via the guiding center approximation; a discussion of adiabatic invariance and particle motion in fields with spatial symmetry; the Liouville equation and the BBGKY hierarchy in the plasma limit; the Balescu-Lenard equation; the derivation of the Vlasov equation; the plasma moment equations; and plasma transport phenomena. The second semester will deal with waves in cold, uniform plasmas; the application of the Vlasov equation to waves in warm plasmas; Landau damping; instabilities; waves in spatially non-uniform plasmas; and the description of turbulent plasmas and associated transport processes (anomalous diffusion, collisionless dissipation, etc.). The topics of both semesters will be discussed in relation to the problems of achieving controlled thermonuclear fusions and the understanding of geophysical and astrophysical plasma phenomena.

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