2023 Faculty Courses School of Science Undergraduate major in Physics
Plasma Physics
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Physics
- Instructor(s)
- Yasuaki Kishimoto / Toru Kawamura
- Class Format
- Lecture (Blended)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Intensive (M-110(H112))
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- PHY.C344
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2023
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 8, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The course is to achieve good comprehension of fundamentals of plasma physics with the elements of mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics, and so on taken in undergraduate curriculum. In the course, the issues on single charged particle and collective plasma-fluid motions in electromagnetic field are given in the former half, and the latter is devoted to generation of waves in plasma.
The physics of plasma has been growing up to be an important issue in the studies of fusion plasma, plasma-processing relevant to semiconductor manufacturing, in addition to those of the auroral ionosphere and space plasma, being indispensable for interpretation of complex physical phenomena in the fields. The course of plasma physics is for beginners and helps them gain improved comprehension of the complex-system sciences mentioned above.
Course description and aims
The course aims at achieving the fundamentals of plasma physics. The students will learn and understand fundamental collective phenomena caused by charged particles in plasma.
Keywords
debye shielding, drift motion, plasma frequency, electron plasma waves, ion acoustic waves, upper and lower hybrid oscillations, electrostatic ion cyclotron waves, ordinary and extraordinary waves, R- and L-waves, ambipolar diffusion, magnetohydrodynamic equations, Boltzmann equation, Landau damping
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course is held with a textbook directed below. Some additional contents will be complemented with a book for reference if necessary.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Debye shielding, Criteria for plasma | Explain basic parameters describing plasma. |
| Class 2 | Single charged particle motion -1- : Drift motion in spatially uniform electromagnetic field, Drift motion in spatially nonuniform magnetic field. | Explain the drift motion of a charged particle in directed electromagnetic field. |
| Class 3 | Single charged particle motion -2- : Drift motion in spatially nonuniform electric field, Drift motion in time varying electric field. | Explain the drift motion of a charged particle in directed electric field. |
| Class 4 | Plasma as fluid -1- : Dielectric constant of plasma, Plasma fluid equations (1) | Explain fluid equations self-consistently describing electromagnetic field and plasma motion. |
| Class 5 | Plasma as fluid -2- : Plasma fluid equations (2), Drift motion of plasma fluid perpendicular (parallel) to magnetic field. | Explain the drift motion of plasma fluid in magnetic field. |
| Class 6 | Waves in plasma -1- : Plasma oscillations, Waves in plasma without magnetic field (transverse waves). | Explain the propagation characteristics of transverse waves in plasma without external magnetic field. |
| Class 7 | Waves in plasma -2- : Waves in plasma without magnetic field (longitudinal waves) - Electron plasma waves, Ion acoustic waves - | Explain the propagation characteristics of electron-plasma and ion-acoustic waves. |
| Class 8 | Waves in plasma -3- : Waves in plasma perpendicular to magnetic field - Upper and lower hybrid oscillations, Electrostatic ion cyclotron waves - | Explain the propagation characteristics of upper / lower hybrid oscillations and electrostatic ion cyclotron waves. |
| Class 9 | Waves in plasma -4- : Waves in plasma perpendicular to magnetic field - Ordinary and extraordinary waves, Cutoff and resonance frequencies - | Explain the propagation characteristics of ordinary and extraordinary waves, in addition, cutoff and resonance frequencies. |
| Class 10 | Waves in plasma -5- : Waves in plasma parallel to magnetic field - R- and L-waves (including whistler and Alfvén waves) - | Explain the propagation characteristics of R- and L-waves. |
| Class 11 | Diffusion in plasma : Diffusion coefficient and mobility, ambipolar diffusion. | Explain the ambipolar diffusion. |
| Class 12 | Collisions in fully ionized plasma : Collision frequency and plasma resistivity, Large- and small angle scatterings, inverse-bremsstrahlung | Explain the relation between a collision frequency and a plasma resistivity, and the Coulomb logarithm. |
| Class 13 | Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations of fully ionized plasma. | The MHD equations describe plasma phenomena involving waves with low-frequencies. Derive a requirement for velocity of plasma fluid. |
| Class 14 | Introduction to plasma kinetic theory : Boltzmann and fluid equations, Landau damping. | Explain a reason why electron plasma waves are affected by the Landau damping at the phase velocity nearly equal to thermal velocity of plasma. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
T. Uchida (translator), Introduction to Plasma Physics, Maruzen Co., Ltd (Japanese edition).
Reference books, course materials, etc.
M. Ogasawara, T. Kato (joint translators), Fundamentals of plasma physics, Maruzen Co., Ltd (Japanese edition).
(English edition：Dwight R. Nicholson, Introduction to Plasma Theory, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Learning achievement on the fundamental plasma phenomena is evaluated by a final exam and some mini-exams occasionally held in the course.
Related courses
- None.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
kishimoto.yasuaki.84r[at]st.kyoto-u.ac.jp
kawamura.t.ab[at]m.titech.ac.jp
Other
None.