Chapter 5 - Basic Plasma Parameters Described by Kappa Distributions

Abstract

This chapter presents the derivation of basic plasma parameters within the framework of kappa distribution theory. We examine the thermodynamic processes of polytropes and the physics behind the notion of polytropic index, the correlations between any two particle energies or other statistical moments, the Debye shielding and length scale, the electrical conductivity, the collision frequency for electrons colliding with ions and the respective mean free path, the plasma magnetization, the Pierre Curie's law and the Curie constant, and the topic of large-scale quantization constant. It is now straightforward to apply these developments to study space, geophysical, laboratory, or other plasmas out of thermal equilibrium.