An Introduction to Space Plasma Complexity

by Tom Tien Sun Chang

Overview

An Introduction to Space Plasma Complexity considers select examples of complexity phenomena related to observed plasma processes in the space environment, such as those pertaining to the solar corona, the interplanetary medium, and Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. This book provides a guided tour of the ideas behind forced and/or self-organized criticality, intermittency, multifractals, and the theory of the dynamic renormalization group, with applications to space plasma complexity. There is much to be explored and studied in this relatively new and developing field. Readers will be able to apply the concepts and methodologies espoused in this introduction to their own research interests and activities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316233870
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/09/2015
Series:	Cambridge Atmospheric and Space Science Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	14 MB
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About the Author

Tom Chang is internationally known for his contributions to the physics of complexity, self-organized criticality, intermittent turbulence, and charged-particle acceleration processes in space plasmas. For thirty-five years, he has led theoretical geo/cosmo plasma research at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Physical Society and has been president of the Society of Engineering Science. He was the editor of the journal Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics and associate editor of Reviews of Geophysics, and he served for many years as an editor of the international journal Plasma Physics. He is the recipient of the National Thompson Award from ASTM and of certificates of recognition from the Society of Engineering Science and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Dynamical criticality far from equilibrium and associated phenomena; 3. Physics of complexity; 4. Probability distribution and structure functions; 5. Partition functions, generalized dimensions, and singularity spectra; 6. Rank ordered multifractal analysis (ROMA); 7. Dynamic renormalization group and connection between criticality and multifractals; Finale.

Editorial Reviews

"… the book is both readable and authoritative. It is written by an expert practitioner and provides a challenging and rewarding read for students as well as for professionals …"
Terry Robinson, The Observatory

'[An Introduction to Space Plasma Complexity] will be primarily of special interest to students and researchers in the field of space plasma to learn how ideas coming from the theory of complexity can be applied and explain some complex phenomena occurring in the space plasma environment. Nevertheless, I believe it can be also useful for theoretical physicists and applied mathematicians interested in the applications of ideas of non-linear dynamics, statistical physics and complex systems to a field which is not sufficiently well known.' Miguel A. F. Sanjuán, Contemporary Physics

From the Publisher