课程简介
Princeton has a long tradition of excellence in the field of plasma astrophysics, dating back to Lyman Spitzer's pioneering work on the physical properties of interstellar gas. This tradition continues with active research in plasma astrophysics involving collaborations throughout the Princeton area -- including the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, the Princeton University Program in Plasma Physics (which is also part of the Department of Astrophysical Sciences), the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and the Institute for Advanced Study -- as well as with the Max Planck Institutes for Plasma Physics in Garching and Greifswald. Key research topics include magnetic reconnection (Stephen Jardin, Hantao Ji, Russell Kulsrud, Stewart Prager, Anatoly Spitkovsky, Masaaki Yamada), angular momentum transport in accretion disks (Princeton Magnetorotational Instability [MRI] Experiment, Jeremy Goodman, Greg Hammett, Hantao Ji, Matthew Kunz, Eve Ostriker, Stewart Prager, James Stone), collisionless shocks (Jeremy Goodman, Anatoly Spitkovsky), heliospheric physics (Amitava Bhattacharjee, Matthew Kunz), protostellar cores and protoplanetary disks (Matthew Kunz, Eve Ostriker, James Stone), and the physics of high-energy-density plasmas (Nat Fisch). Magnetic reconnection (Magnetic Reconnection Experiment, MRX) is a key subject to identify physical mechanisms responsible for rapid changes in magnetic field topologies and the associated release of magnetic energy commonly observed in magnetospheric storms, solar corona, accretion disks, and compact objects, as well as laboratory plasma experiments.
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