The Sun continually ejects matter into space, blowing a huge bubble of supersonic plasma. This solar wind bathes the whole solar system and shapes all planetary environments. The recent growth of space technology has considerably increased our knowledge of this medium. This book presents a modern introduction to the subject, starting with basic principles and including all the latest advances from space exploration and theory. It contains a short introduction to plasma physics and discusses the structure of the solar interior and atmosphere, the production of solar wind and its perturbations. It explains the objects of the Solar System, from dust to comets and planets, and their interaction with the solar wind. The final sections explore the astrophysical point of view. The topics are treated at various levels of difficulty both qualitatively and quantitatively. This book will appeal to graduate students and researchers in earth and atmospheric sciences, and astrophysics.
• The first book to cover this subject comprehensively • Self-contained and includes a short course on plasma physics and ionisation processes • Emphasises physical understanding and quantitative assessment without heavy mathematics or computation
Contents
Preface; Part I. The Wind From the Sun: an Introduction: 1. A brief history of ideas; 2. Looking at the Sun; 3. Observing the solar wind; Part II. Toolkit for Space Plasma Physics: 4. What is a plasma?; 5. Dynamics of a charged particle; 6. Many particles: from kinetics to MHD; 7. Basic tools for ionisation; 8. Problems; Part III. Anatomy of the Sun: 9. An (almost) ordinary star; 10. Structure and dynamics; 11. Some guesses on solar magnetism; 12. Problems; Part IV. The Outer Solar Atmosphere: 13. From the photosphere to the corona; 14. Force balance and magnetic structures; 15. Energy balance; 16. Some prominent species; 17. Time variability; 18. Coronal heating: Boojums at work?; 19. Hydrostatic instability of the corona; 20. Problems; Part V. How does the solar wind blow?: 21. The basic problem; 22. Simple fluid theory; 23. Letting the temperature vary; 24. A mixture of fluids; 25. Kinetic descriptions; 26. Building a 'full' theory?; 27. Problems; Part VI. Structure and Perturbations: 28. Basic large-scale magnetic field; 29. Three-dimensional structure during the solar cycle; 30. Major perturbations; 31. Waves and turbulence; 32. Minor constituents; 33. Problems; Part VII. Bodies in the Wind: Dust, Asteroids, Planets and Comets: 34. Bodies in the wind; 35. Basics of the interaction; 36. The magnetospheric engine; 37. Physics of heliospheric dust grains; 38. Comets; 7.6. Problems; Part VIII. The Solar Wind in the Universe: 39. The frontier of the heliosphere; 40. Cosmic rays; 41. Examples of winds in the universe; 42. Problems; Index.
Review
'The author has an easy style and a knack for clarity, picking out questions to answer and summarising key points without dull repetition. There are plenty of illustrations, including some excellent sketches and cartoons, and overviews of the types of images used … Nicole Meyer-Vernet has done an excellent job of starting at the very beginning of a complex topic and talking the reader through to an understanding of current research questions, with good humour and a sharp eye for inconsistencies.' Geoscientist
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