Courses

For a more comprehensive list of all courses offered at Princeton University, go to the Office of the Registrar and check out Course Offerings for classes offered.

Fall Courses

Fall 2023
Analytical Techniques in Differential Equations
Subject associations
APC 503 / AST 557

Asymptotic methods, Dominant balance, ODEs: initial and Boundary value problems, Wronskian, Green's functions, Complex Variables: Cauchy's theorem, Taylor and Laurent expansions, Approximate Solution of Differential Equations, singularity type, Series expansions. Asymptotic Expansions. Stationary Phase, Saddle Points, Stokes phenomena. WKB Theory: Stokes constants, Airy function, Derivation of Heading's rules, bound states, barrier transmission. Asymptotic evaluation of integrals, Laplace's method, Stirling approximation, Integral representations, Gamma function, Riemann zeta function. Boundary Layer problems, Multiple Scale Analysis

Instructors
Steven C. Cowley
Felix I. Parra Diaz
Ehud Yariv
Fall 2023
General Plasma Physics I
Subject associations
AST 551 / MAE 525

An introductory course to plasma physics, with sample applications in fusion, space and astrophysics, semiconductor etching, microwave generation, plasma propulsion, high power laser propagation in plasma; characterization of the plasma state, Debye shielding, plasma and cyclotron frequencies, collision rates and mean-free paths, atomic processes, adiabatic invariance, orbit theory, magnetic confinement of single-charged particles, two-fluid description, magnetohydrodynamic waves and instabilities, heat flow, diffusion, kinetic description, and Landau damping. The course may be taken by undergraduates with permission of the instructor.

Instructors
Nathaniel J. Fisch
Hong Qin
Fall 2023
Plasma Waves and Instabilities
Subject associations
AST 553

Hydrodynamic and kinetic models of nonmagnetized and magnetized plasma dispersion; basic plasma waves and their applications; basic instabilities; mechanisms of collisionless dissipation; geometrical-optics approximation; conservation laws and transport equations for the wave action, energy, and momentum; mode conversion; quasilinear theory.

Instructors
Ilya Y. Dodin
Fall 2023
Seminar in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 558

Advances in experimental and theoretical studies or laboratory and naturally-occurring high-termperature plasmas, including stability and transport, nonlinear dynamics and turbulence, magnetic reconnection, selfheating of "burning" plasmas, and innovative concepts for advanced fusion systems. Advances in plasma applications, including laser-plasma interactions, nonneutral plasmas, high-intensity accelerators, plasma propulsion, plasma processing, and coherent electromagnetic wave generation.

Instructors
Samuel A. Cohen
Allan H. Reiman

Spring Courses

Spring 2024
Fusion Plasmas & Plasma Diagnostics
Subject associations
AST 555

Introduction to experimental plasma physics, with emphasis on high-temperature plasmas for fusion. Requirements for fusion plasmas: confinement, beta, power and particle exhaust. Discussion of tokamak fusion and alternative magnetic and inertial confinement systems. Status of experimental understanding: what we know and how we know it. Key plasma diagnostic techniques: magnetic measurements, Langmuir probes, microwave techniques, spectroscopic techniques, electron cyclotron emission, Thomson scattering.

Instructors
Philip C. Efthimion
William R. Fox
Richard P. Majeski
Yevgeny Raitses
Spring 2024
General Plasma Physics II
Subject associations
AST 552

This is an introductory graduate course in plasma physics, focusing on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and its extension to weakly collisional or collisionless plasmas. Topics to be covered include: the equations of MHD and extended MHD, the structure of magnetic fields, static and rotating MHD equilibria and their stability, magnetic reconnection, MHD turbulence, and the dynamo effect. Applications are drawn from fusion, heliophysical, and astrophysical plasmas.

Instructors
Amitava Bhattacharjee
Spring 2024
Introduction to Classical and Neoclassical Transport and Confinement
Subject associations
AST 568

The first half of this course intends to provide students with a systematic development of the fundamentals of gyrokinetic (GK) theory, and the second half provides students with an introduction to transport and confinement in magnetically confined plasmas.

Instructors
Hong Qin
William M. Tang
Spring 2024
Irreversible Processes in Plasmas
Subject associations
AST 554

Introduction to theory of fluctuations and transport in plasma. Origins of irreversibility. Random walks, Brownian motion, and diffusion; Langevin and Fokker-Planck theory. Fluctuation-dissipation theorem; test-particle superposition principle. Statistical closure problem. Derivation of kinetic equations from BBGKY hierarchy and Klimontovich formalism; properties of plasma collision operators. Classical transport coefficients in magnetized plasmas; Onsager symmetry. Introduction to plasma turbulence, including quasilinear theory. Applications to current problems in plasma research.

Instructors
Matthew W. Kunz
Spring 2024
Laboratory in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 562

Develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of basic and advanced laboratory techniques used to measure the properties and behavior of plasmas. Representative experiments are: cold-cathode plasma formation and architecture; ambipolar diffusion in afterglow plasmas; Langmuir probe measurements of electron temperature and plasma density; period doubling and transitions to chaos in glow discharges; optical spectroscopy for species identification; microwave interferometry and cavity resonances for plasma density determination; and momentum generated by a plasma thruster.

Instructors
Samuel A. Cohen
Spring 2024
Seminar in Plasma Physics
Subject associations
AST 558

Advances in experimental and theoretical studies or laboratory and naturally-occurring high-temperature plasmas, including stability and transport, nonlinear dynamics and turbulence, magnetic reconnection, selfheating of "burning" plasmas, and innovative concepts for advanced fusion systems. Advances in plasma applications, including laser-plasma interactions, nonneutral plasmas, high-intensity accelerators, plasma propulsion, plasma processing, and coherent electromagnetic wave generation.

Instructors
Felix I. Parra Diaz
Allan H. Reiman