Syllabus

Spring Semester 2001

You can download a printable version of the complete Syllabus.

Instructor: Prof. Eberhard Möbius, Physics Department, and Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space
Office: Morse Hall, Room 407
Phone: 862-3097
E-Mail: Eberhard.Moebius@unh.edu
Office hours: Tu, We, Fr 1100 ­ 1200 am

Course Materials:

• Book: May-Britt Kallenrode, Space Physics,
  Springer Verlag, Berlin, New-York, 1998.

On Reserve in Physics Library:

• Books according to bibliography
• Folders with relevant papers
• Folder with Lecture Notes (to be filled during course)

WWW Page (developing during course): index.html

Term Paper	Draft due: Monday, April 9	(15%)
after conference	Rev. due: Friday, May 11	(5%)

Midterm Exam:

Friday, March 9

Syllabus

The solar wind provides a very versatile laboratory to study the physics of interacting plasmas and the transport and acceleration of particles in space. The acceleration of the hot corona to a supersonic wind and its interaction with the interstellar neighborhood is a basic example for the surroundings of stars. Wherever the supersonic solar wind runs into obstacles the formation of shock waves: at planetary magnetospheres and comets, in the transition from high to low speed solar wind, at coronal mass ejections, and at the heliospheric boundary. Shock waves are known as very efficient particle accelerators in the cosmos. A wide variety of them can be studied in-situ within the solar system itself. The populations of particles, which are accelerated in interplanetary space, range from the solar wind proper, via particles from the planetary and cometary environments to the interstellar gas. In addition, particles accelerated at the sun during solar flares have to be considered. We will include the discussion of the instrumentation necessary to study these phenomena experimentally.

1. Introduction
2. Solar Wind and Interplanetary Magnetic Field
3. Plasma Instrumentation: Low Energy Particles and Fields
4. Interaction of the Interstellar Medium with the Heliosphere
5. Cosmic Ray Instruments: Energetic Particles
6. Transport and Acceleration of Charged Particles
7. Solar Energetic Particles
8. Other Energetic Particles Sources

More general books:

• Brandt, J.C., Introduction to the Solar Wind, W.H. Freeman and Co., 1970, Solar wind physics, includes some instrumentation, QB505.B72R
• Hundhausen, A., Coronal Expansion and Solar Wind, , Classical Introduction to Solar Wind, Q R
• Kallenrode, M.B., Space Physics, An Introduction to Plasmas and Particles in the Heliosphere and Magnetospheres, Springer-Verlag, Berlin New-York, 1998; Introductory text to heliospheric physics (selected course book) (R)
• Kirk, J.G., D.B. Melrose, E.R. Priest, Plasma Astrophysics, , Springer-Verlag, New York, 1994, MHD, Transport, Acceleration, QB462.7.K57 R
• Kivelson, M.G., C.T. Russell, Introduction to Space Physics, Cambridge University Press, 1995, MHD, Solar Wind, Magnetosphere, Shocks, Acceleration R

Instrumentation:

• Pfaff, R., J. Borowski, D. Young, eds., Measurement Techniques in Space Plasmas, AGU Monograph 102 and 103, 1998; First compilation of space plasma physics instrumentation (R)

Solar Wind:

• Schwenn, R., E. Marsch, Physics of the Inner Heliosphere
  (Large Scale Phenomena), 1, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991, Solar Wind, IMF, QC801.P46.v.20 R
• Schwenn, R., E. Marsch, Physics of the Inner Heliosphere
  (Particles, Waves and Turbulence), 2, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991, Solar Wind, Waves, Cosmic Rays, QC801.P46.v.21 R

  Individual Articles:

• Isenberg, P.A., The Solar Wind, Geomagnetism, 4, 1, 85, 1991, Recent Review R
• Mariani, F., F.M. Neubauer, The Interplanetary Magnetic Field
  (Large Scale Phenomena), Physics of the Inner Heliosphere, 1, 183, 206, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991, QC801.P46.v.20

Interstellar Gas - Heliosphere:

• Grzedzielski, S., D.E. Page, eds., Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, Pergamon Press, 1990, Recent Conference R
• Von Steiger, R., R. Lallement, M. A. Lee, eds., The Heliosphere in the Local interstellar Medium, Space Science Series of ISSI, Kluwer Publ., 1996, Recent Review from a Conference about the local environement of the solar system(R)

  Individual Articles:

• Axford, W.I., Introductory Lecture - The Heliosphere, Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, 7, 15, Pergamon Press, 1990.
• Lallement, R., Scattering of Solar UV on Local Neutral Gas, Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, 49, 59, Pergamon Press, 1990, UV Measurements of Interstellar Gas
• Möbius, E., The Interaction of Interstellar Pick-up Ions with the Solar Wind - Probing the Interstellar Medium by In-Situ Measurements, Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, 345, 354, Pergamon Press, 1990, Pickup Ion Measurements of Interstellar Gas

Cosmic Rays and Acceleration:

• Zank, G., T.K. Gaisser, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, American Institute of Physics, New York, 1991; Particle Acceleration in the heliosphere and other places in the cosmos R

  Individual Articles:

• Blandford, R.D., Particle Acceleration Mechanisms, Astrophys. J., Suppl., 90, 515, 520, 1994.
• Jokipii, J.R., Diffusive Shock Acceleration: Acceleration Rate, Magnetic Field Direction and Diffusion Limit, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, 137, 147, American Institrute of Physics, New York, 1991.
• Jokipii, J.R., The Anomalous Component of Cosmic Rays, Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, 169, 178, Pergamon Press, 1990, Particle Acceleration at the Heliospheric Boundary
• Jones, F., A Review of Transport Theory, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, 71, 78, American Institrute of Physics, New York, 1991.
• Jones, F.C., A Theoretical Review of Diffusive Shock Acceleration, Astrophys. J., Suppl., 90, 561, 566, 1994.
• Jones, F.C., D.C. Ellison, The Plasma Physics of Shock Acceleration, Space Science Reviews, 58, 259, 346, 1991, Recent Review on Shocks and Acceleration
• Kunow, H., G. Wibberenz, G. Green, R. Müller-Mellin, M.-B. Kallenrode, Energetic Particles in the Inner Solar System
  (Waves, Turbulence, Particles), Physics of the Inner Heliosphere, 2, 243, 342, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991, QC801.P46.v.21
• Lee, M., Particle Acceleration in the Heliosphere, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, 27, 44, American Institute of Physics, New York, 1991
• McKibben, R.B., Cosmic Rays in the Local Interstellar Medium, Physics of the Outer Heliosphere, COSPAR Colloquia Series, 1, 107, 118, Pergamon Press, 1990.
• Reames, D.V., Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares: Observations, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, 213, 222, American Institrute of Physics, New York, 1991.
• Scholer, M., Microphysics and Structure of Quasi-Parallel Shocks: Observations, Theory, and Implications for Particle Acceleration, Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Plasmas, AIP Conf. Proc. , 264, 125, 136, American Institute of Physics, New York, 1991.
• Terasawa, T., M. Scholer, The Heliosphere as an Astrophysical Laboratory for Particle Acceleration, Science, 244, 1050, 1057, 1989. R

In Italics: This is emphasized in the book/article

R: This book/article is on reserve; (R) on order