Astrophysical Plasmas and Fluids

An introduction to astrophysical plasmas and fluids, this book aims to prepare the reader for a career in the field. The contents provide a true representation of the diversity of dominant roles that plasmas and fluids play in the near and far reaches of the universe. The author explores the technical side of the book via the Liouville equation to derive the single-fluid, two-fluid and kinetic descriptions of a plasma and a fluid, and then demonstrating the use of these descriptions for specific situations in the rest of the book. The two major astrophysical issues, fluid or plasma configurations and their radiative signatures, figure prominently throughout. The problems are designed to give the reader a feel for the quantitative properties of celestial objects.