Chaos and Structures in Nonlinear Plasmas

Book excerpt: This book develops the subject of nonlinear plasma physics from a general physics perspective. It begins with a description of nonlinear oscillations, the parametric instability, the pendulum, and the nonlinear island overlap criterion. The Kolomogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theory is analyzed. Laboratory visualizations of the KAM theory are presented for experiments in toroidal plasma confinement and rotating fluids. The subjects of transport in E x B flows and geostrophic flows are developed in parallel, stressing the generality of the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation. The dual nature of wave turbulence and vortex dynamics is developed for plasmas and geophysical flows. The presentation of the subject of nonlinear maps shows how maps are related to the nonlinear dynamics in plasma physics problems. Numerous space plasma and fusion physics examples are developed throughout the book. The final chapter deals with turbulence theory, renormalized mode coupling equations, and Kolomogorov-type spectra as modified for anisotropic plasmas.