Magnetic Reconnection

Eric Priest, FRS, is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews. He is an international authority on solar magnetohydrodynamics (or MHD for short): the study of the interaction between the sun's magnetic field and its plasma interior or atmosphere. He is on the Advisory Board of the Faraday Institute and the Board of Trustees of the John Templeton Foundation.

Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phenomena in the universe, such as solar flares, geomagnetic substorms and tokamak disruptions. In an authoritative volume, two world leaders on the subject give a comprehensive overview of this fundamental process. The book provides both a full account of the basic theory and a wide-ranging review of the physical phenomena created by reconnection - from laboratory machines, the Earth's magnetosphere, and the Sun's atmosphere to flare stars and astrophysical accretion disks. It also provides a succinct account of various mechanisms of particle acceleration and of how reconnection can be important in such mechanisms. The clear and pedagogical style makes this book an essential introduction for graduate students and an authoritative reference for researchers in solar physics, astrophysics, plasma physics and space science.

Magnetic reconnection is at the core of many dynamic phenomena in the universe. In an authoritative volume, two world leaders on the subject give a comprehensive overview of this fundamental process. It provides a full introduction to the theory, and a wide-ranging review of its applications - from laboratory machines, the Earth’s magnetosphere, and the Sun’s atmosphere to flare stars and astrophysical accretion disks. The clear and pedagogical style makes this book an essential introduction for graduate students and an authoritative reference for researchers in solar physics, astrophysics, plasma physics and space science.

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Current-sheet formation; 3. Magnetic annihilation; 4. Steady reconnection: the classical solutions; 5. Steady reconnection: new generation of fast regimes; 6. Unsteady reconnection: the tearing mode; 7. Unsteady reconnection: other approaches; 8. Reconnection in three dimensions; 9. Laboratory applications; 10. Magnetospheric applications; 11. Solar applications; 12. Astrophysical applications; 13. Particle acceleration; References; Appendices; Index.