University of Helsinki / Department of Physics

Advanced Space Physics

10 credits

Current announcements (spring 2012)

Changes in lecture and exercise times

Week 7: Lecture on Tuesday (15.2.), exercises on Monday (13.2.) and Thursday (16.2.)

Week 8: Lectures on Monday (20.2.) and Tuesday (21.2.), exercises on Thursday (23.2.)

Week 9: Lectures on Monday (27.2.) and Tuesday (28.2.), exercises on Thursday (1.3.)

Week 10: Period break, no lectures, no exercises

About the course

These lectures are intented to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students interested in space physics, plasma physics, applications of electrodynamics, statistical physics, hydrodynamics, etc. The students are expected to have good knowledge on electrodynamics, basic understanding of thermodynamics/statistical physics, and readiness to use standard mathematical methods of physics (FYMM I & II). Some preliminary knowledge on plasma physics is useful but not necessary, as all used plasma physical concepts will be introduced during the course. Most of the course deals with plasma physical phenomena. In addition, basics of wave propagation, radition and single particle motion are discussed.

Period III (weeks 3-9, 16.1. - 2.3.) and Period IV (weeks 11-18, 12.3. - 4.5.)

Lectures

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12-14 in the room D117.

Exercise sessions

Mondays at 12-14 in BK106 (Exactum).

Note that sometimes lecture and exercise times will be interchanged. Information will be posted on the web-site.

The problem sets will be handed out as pdf-files in this page.

• Problems will often be discussed before the material is covered in the lectures. Group work is strongly recommended.
• The solutions to the problems will be presented by the students at the exercise session. The solutions will not be returned to the TA in advance.
• After the solutions have been discussed, the students and the assistant will jointly determine which one of the students will produce the final model solution to each problem. Group work in this stage is even more strongly recommended. Later during the course the model solutions will be reviewed and modifications/corrections agreed when needed.
• At the end of the exercise session the problems for the next round will be briefly discussed.

Literature

Text-book: Hannu E. J. Koskinen, Physics of Space Storms – From the Solar Surface to the Earth, Springer/PRAXIS 2011.

The course will follow the plasma theory chapters (Ch 2-11) of the text-book. From a University computer you can download the book through SpringerLink, chapter by chapter (google: Physics of Space Storms).

Material from the previous years (lecture notes + exercises) can be found in the xfiles section.

Preliminary plan of the lectures

Introduction and physical foundations
Single particle motion
Waves in cold plasma approximation
Vlasov theory
Magnetohydrodynamics
Space plasma instabilities
Magnetic reconnection
Plasma radiation and scattering
Transport and diffusion in space plasmas
Shocks and shock acceleration

Lecture notes

1. Introduction
2. Basic equations
3. Single particle motion
4. Wave propagation (cold plasma)
5. Vlasov theory

Supplementary reading

• Baumjohann, W., Treumann, R., Basic Space Plasma Physics, Imperial College Press, 1996.
• Bellan, P. M., Fundamentals of Plasma Physics, Gambridge University Press, 2006.
• Bittencourt, J. A., Fundamentals of Plasma Physics, Pergamon Press, 1986.
• Boyd,T. J. M., and Sanderson, J. J., The Physics of Plasmas, Cambridge University Press, 2003.
• Goldston, R. J., and Rutherford, P. H., Introduction to Plasma Physics, IOP Physics Publishing Ltd., 1995.
• Gurnett, D. A., and Bhattacharjee, A., Introduction to Plasma Physics. With Space and Laboratory Applications, Gambridge University Press, 2004.
• Krall, N. A., and Trivelpiece, A. W. , Principles of Plasma Physics, San Francisco Press, 1986 (a reproduction of the original text published by McGraw-Hill, 1973).
• Kulsrud, R. M., Plasma Physics for Astrophysics, Princeton University Press, 2005.
• Nicholson, D. R., Introduction to Plasma Theory, John Wiley & Sons, 1983.
• Parks, G. K., Physics of Space Plasmas. An Introduction (2nd ed), Westview Press, 2004.
• Priest, E., and Forbes, T., Magnetic Reconnection, MHD Theory and Applications, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Sturrock, P. A. Plasma Physics, An Introduction to the Theory of Astrophysical, Geophysical & Laboratory Plasmas, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
• Treumann, R., and Baumjohann, W. Advanced Space Plasma Physics, Imperial College Press, 1997.

Lecturer

Hannu Koskinen, Professor in Space Physics
Room: D316, Physicum, 3rd floor
Tel: +358 9 191 50675
E-mail: hannu.e.koskinen@helsinki.fi
Homepage: www.helsinki.fi/~hejkoski/

Exercise assistant

Heli Hietala, Graduate Student in Space Physics
Room: D315, Physicum, 3rd floor
Tel: +358 9 191 51198
E-mail: heli.hietala@helsinki.fi

Problem sets

Problem set 1
Problem set 2
Problem set 3
Problem sets 4 and 5

Old lecture notes and problem sets

2010
2008
2005: notes, problems