An Introduction to Special Relativity for Radiation and Plasma Physics

Greg Tallents is Professor in Physics at the York Plasma Institute at the University of York. He completed a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics at the Australian National University in the late 1970s and has since researched the physics and applications of laser-produced plasmas and short wavelength plasma lasers. He has written a textbook An Introduction to the Atomic and Radiation Physics of Plasmas published in 2018 by Cambridge University Press.

• Preface; 1. A brief introduction to special relativity and light; 2. An introduction to relativistic kinematics, kinetics and energy; 3. Relativity and electromagnetic fields; 4. Electromagnetic wave interactions with plasma and other matter; 5. Particle motion and radiation in electric and magnetic fields; 6. Photon and particle distribution functions; 7. Radiation emission, absorption and scatter in plasmas; 8. Collisional processes; 9. Relativistic optics; 10. Solutions to selected exercises; Appendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; References; Index.

'Professor Greg Tallents is one of the leading researchers in the field of laser plasma interaction, especially for the radiative processes in plasmas including the relativistic effects. The book nicely describes the relativistic effects in plasmas, from the basic concepts to cutting edge scientific activities.' Hiroyuki Daido, Senior Fellow, Institute for Laser Technology and Osaka University