Part IV: Waves & Instabilities

Plasma supports a rich variety of wave modes and instabilities. Understanding wave-particle and wave-wave interactions is essential for fusion, space physics, and astrophysics.

Part Overview

Key Topics

  • • Electromagnetic wave dispersion
  • • Langmuir and ion acoustic waves
  • • Whistler and lower hybrid modes
  • • Parametric instabilities
  • • Drift waves and micro-instabilities
  • • Plasma turbulence