The aim of this book is twofold: to provide an introduction for newcomers to state of the art computer simulation techniques in space plasma physics and an overview of current developments. Computer simulation has reached a stage where it can be a highly useful tool for guiding theory and for making predictions of space plasma phenomena, ranging from microscopic to global scales. The various articles are arranged, as much as possible, according to the - derlying simulation technique, starting with the technique that makes the least number of assumptions: a fully kinetic approach which solves the coupled set of Maxwell’s equations for the electromagnetic ?eld and the equations of motion for a very large number of charged particles (electrons and ions) in this ?eld. Clearly, this is also the computationally most demanding model. Therefore, even with present day high performance computers, it is the most restrictive in terms of the space and time domain and the range of particle parameters that can be covered by the simulation experiments. It still makes sense, therefore, to also use models, which due to their simp- fying assumptions, seem less realistic, although the e?ect of these assumptions on the outcome of the simulation experiments needs to be carefully assessed.

Over the years, many leading European graduate schools in the field of astrophysical and space plasmas have operated within the framework of the research network, "Theory, Observations, and Simulations in Turbulence in Space Plasmas." This text is a set of lectures and tutorial reviews culled from the relevant work of all those schools. It emphasizes applications on solar coronae, solar flares, and the solar wind. In bridging the gap between standard textbook material and state-of-the-art research, this text offers a broad flavor to postgraduate and postdoctoral students just coming to the field. And because of its unique mix, it will also be useful to lecturers looking for advanced teaching material for their seminars and courses.

The emergence over the past several years of space plasma simula tions as a distinct field of endeavor, rather than simply the somewhat startling offspring of plasma physics, computer simulations and space observations, has necessitated a concentrated effort at interdigitat ing its parent and component fields. After several years of working the benefits of a well-defined interactive community of those without working in the field, a group of those who had gained greatly from setting up joint research projects and other lines of communication, arranged to further these gains by setting up the First International School for Space Simulations, which was organized by Kyoto University and held in Kyoto, Japan in November 1982. Its unqualified success led to the organization of the second such School, this time by the University of California, Los Angeles, and held in Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii. The Second International School for Space Simulations drew some 175 attendees from around the world; the distribution of attendees approached the targeted equal representation by established investi gators and graduate students/beginning investigators. This strong attendance by graduate students and beginning investigators was due to the generous support of a number of funding agencies from the United States and Japan as well as international scientific organizations.

The aim of this book is twofold: to provide an introduction for newcomers to state of the art computer simulation techniques in space plasma physics and an overview of current developments. Computer simulation has reached a stage where it can be a highly useful tool for guiding theory and for making predictions of space plasma phenomena, ranging from microscopic to global scales. The various articles are arranged, as much as possible, according to the - derlying simulation technique, starting with the technique that makes the least number of assumptions: a fully kinetic approach which solves the coupled set of Maxwell’s equations for the electromagnetic ?eld and the equations of motion for a very large number of charged particles (electrons and ions) in this ?eld. Clearly, this is also the computationally most demanding model. Therefore, even with present day high performance computers, it is the most restrictive in terms of the space and time domain and the range of particle parameters that can be covered by the simulation experiments. It still makes sense, therefore, to also use models, which due to their simp- fying assumptions, seem less realistic, although the e?ect of these assumptions on the outcome of the simulation experiments needs to be carefully assessed.

This book describes the linear theory of waves and instabilities that propagate in a collisionless plasma.

This didactic book uses a data-driven approach to connect measurements made by plasma instruments to the real world. This approach makes full use of the instruments’ capability and examines the data at the most detailed level an experiment can provide. Students using this approach will learn what instruments can measure, and working with real-world data will pave their way to models consistent with these observations. While conceived as a teaching tool, the book contains a considerable amount of new information. It emphasizes recent results, such as particle measurements made from the Cluster ion experiment, explores the consequences of new discoveries, and evaluates new trends or techniques in the field. At the same time, the author ensures that the physical concepts used to interpret the data are general and widely applicable. The topics included help readers understand basic problems fundamental to space plasma physics. Some are appearing for the first time in a space physics textbook. Others present different perspectives and interpretations of old problems and models that were previously considered incontestable. This book is essential reading for graduate students in space plasma physics, and a useful reference for the broader astrophysics community.

This textbook begins with a description of the Earth's plasma environment, followed by the derivation of single particle motions in electromagnetic fields, with applications to the Earth's magnetosphere. Also discussed are the origin and effects of collisions and conductivities, formation of the ionosphere, magnetospheric convection and dynamics, and solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.The second half of the book presents a more theoretical foundation of plasma physics, starting with kinetic theory. Introducing moments of distribution function permits the derivation of the fluid equations, followed by an analysis of fluid boundaries, with the Earth's magnetopause and bow shock as examples, and finally, fluid and kinetic theory are applied to derive the relevant wave modes in a plasma.This revised edition seamlessly integrates new sections on magnetopause reconstruction, as well as instability theory and thermal fluctuations based on new developments in space physics. Applications such as the important problems of collisionless reconnection and collisionless shocks are covered, and some problems have also been included at the end of each chapter.