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Lectures on plasma theory are part of a program for students of the Plasma Physics department of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (Russia). This is an advanced course, and students are supposed to be familiar with the basics of plasma physics in the framework of introductory courses such as “Introduction to Plasma Physics” and “Elementary Processes in Plasma”. Lectures on plasma theory are planned for two semesters. In the first semester, students study kinetic theory and transport processes in plasma, while the second semester is devoted to plasma dynamics, including MHD theory, equilibrium, and stability. More advanced problems, such as neoclassical theory, stochastization of the magnetic field lines, and edge plasma physics, are also considered. Waves in plasma are not included in this course and should be studied separately. Only low-frequency waves and instabilities that are closely connected with the dynamics and transport of plasma, such as MHD and drift waves, are considered.
The distinctive feature of this course compared to most courses on plasma physics is that phenomena in both low- and high-temperature plasmas are considered simultaneously so that the theories of slightly ionized and fully ionized plasmas are presented. Therefore, this course might be useful for a wide audience of students and specialists working in different areas, such as nuclear fusion, gas discharge physics and low-temperature plasma applications, space, and astrophysics. At the end of the chapters, one can find examples of using theoretical expressions obtained in the chapter in various applications, experiments, and numerical simulations