Heliophysics: Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos

Description

Heliophysics is a developing scientific discipline integrating studies of the Sun's variability, the surrounding heliosphere, and climatic environments. Over the past few centuries, our understanding of how the Sun drives space weather and climate on the Earth and other planets has advanced at an ever-increasing rate. This volume, the first in this series of three heliophysics texts, integrates such diverse topics for the first time as a coherent intellectual discipline. It emphasises the physical processes coupling the Sun and Earth, allowing insights into the interaction of the solar wind and radiation with the Earth's magnetic field, atmosphere and climate system. It provides a core resource for advanced undergraduates and graduates, and also constitutes a foundational reference for researchers in heliophysics, astrophysics, plasma physics, space physics, solar physics, aeronomy, space weather, planetary science and climate science. Additional online resources, including lecture presentations and other teaching materials, are accessible at www.cambridge.org/9780521110617.

"Intermixed with the science are many useful examples to provide context for the physics along with discussions on model limitations, contemporary challenges, and history. This reviewer greatly enjoyed the weaving of Kristian Birkeland's historic research some 100 years ago into the chapter on stellar winds. This work dramatically illustrates the complex interplay of electromagnetism, plasmas, and gravity within a wide array of space plasma environments in our local cosmos. Essential." - CHOICE