Plasma processes in outer space

This manual is based on a course of lectures given by the authors to students of the Department of Space Physics of the Physics Faculty of Moscow State University. The course systematically presents general issues of plasma physics, various approaches and methods of theoretical description of plasma processes in outer space. The course includes issues of ionization and recombination processes in plasma, single-particle approximation, kinetic description of plasma, magnetohydrodynamics, waves, instabilities, nonlinear phenomena and turbulence in plasma. The mechanisms of acceleration of charged particles in space are also considered.

The manual is intended for university students studying in the fields of "Fundamental and Applied Physics", "Physics". It can also be used by graduate students studying in the field of "Space Physics, Astronomy" and specialists in the field of space physics.