Fluid Description for Low Frequency Perturbations in an Inhomogeneous Plasma

Book chapter, 2012

We will now start to apply our fluid equations discussed in Chap. 2 to some fundamental modes in inhomogeneous plasmas. The literature in this field is extensive [1–49]. We will here start by studying the effects of the inhomogeneities themselves, without complicated geometry. We will also usually simplify our description so as to disregard temperature perturbations and background gradients. Such effects are very important but lead to considerably more complicated descriptions and will be considered in Chap. 6.