2. Kappa Plasmas

Lorentzian (Kappa) distributions as an advanced tool of statistical modeling and analysis of the solar wind


The so-called Kappa distribution functions are generalized power-laws that provide valuable description for the particle energy spectra in space plasmas. In plasmas where collisions are rare, the independence of particles breaks down due to long-range correlations supplied by the fields and plasma instabilities, and classical statistics cannot reproduce the observed distributions of Kappa-type. Power-law distributions can instead result from a generalized statistics for the charged particles with long-range correlations, which contribute to a super-extensive entropy and implies generalization of the plasma temperature to non-thermal quasi-stationary states.
However, we are still far from a complete and rigorous understanding of these models, and significant issues are still to be addressed, covering all the fundamental and observational aspects:

- Generalized statistics for particle systems out of thermal equilibrium involving long-range interactions (Coulomb, gravitational, etc.) as providing fundamental explanation for Kappa distributions in natural plasmas systems

- Thermodynamical implications, moments of the Kappa distributions and limitations by the power-index

- Evidences of Kappa distributions in space plasmas: integrating and fitting observational data with advanced 3D or 2D (gyrotropic) Kappa models; temperature anisotropy; strahl (beaming) component

- Generation of Kappa distributions in theory and numerical simulations: particle acceleration and pitch-angle scattering by self-generated fields and wave instabilities (beams/counterstreams relaxation and wave decay from large to small scales)

- Origin of the Kappa distributions in the solar wind and terrestrial magnetosphere; coronal scenario and implications.

News

Prizes in SigmaPhi 2014

During the conference, three works selected out of all the oral and poster presentations by scientists under 40 years, have been awarded.The prizes have been respectively offered for...

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Accepted Abstracts

10 May 2014 The list of accepted abstracts submitted for presentation in the conference is available on the page "Abstracts Lists"

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Workshops

1. Anomalous Diffusion

Workshop organized by: S. Abe and J.P. Boon

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2. Kappa Plasmas

Workshop organized by: M. Lazar and V. Pierrard

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3. Econophysics

Workshop organized by: L. Pietronero "Economic Complexity" and T. Aste "Finance, Risk"

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4. Sociophysics

Workshop organized by: B. Szymansk; I) G. Korniss, C. Lim "Human behavior, Social networks"; II) V. Constantoudis "Linguistics"

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5. Complex Networks

Workshop organized by: A. Scala "Interacting networks" and B. Kahng "Phase transitions in networks"

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6. Biophysics

Workshop organized by: P. Paradisi

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7. Environmental Statistical Physics

Workshop organized by: D. Hristopulos

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8. Quantum Computation and Quantum Information

Workshop organized by: D. Ellinas and J. Pachos

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Scientific Sponsors 2014

 

Politecnico di Torino

Italy

 

 

 Department of Applied

Science and Technology

 

Statistical and Nonlinear

Physics Division 

 

ISC - CNR

Roma, Italy

 

Technical University of

Crete Chania, Greece

 

Aristotele University of

Thessaloniki, Greece

 

 

N.C.S.R. Demokritos

Athens, Greece

 

University of Leuven

Belgium

 

 

Entropy

 

Chaos, Solitons

& Fractals

Modern Physics

Letters B

International Journal

of Modern Physics B