The Physics of Alfvén Waves

Low-frequency wave modes of magnetized inhomogeneous plasmas have been subject to intense study in the last decade because they play important roles in the transport of energy in the plasmas. The «Alfven wave heating» scheme has been investigated as a supplementary heating scheme for fusion plasma devices, and it has been invoked as a model of the heating of the solar and stellar coronae. This book covers the latest research into the properties and applications of low-frequency wave modes in magnetized plasmas, the Alfven waves and magneto-acoustic waves, in the context of laboratory, space and astrophysical plasmas. In particular, non-ideal effects on the dispersion rela…