This is a compiled list of notes, books, and other resources which I have found to be useful. This list is by no means comprehensive. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact me.
The FusionWiki is generally a good (and free) place to start. It has decent theory articles, but it’s a little less comprehensive when it comes to the experimental side of things.
Gentle introduction to fusion research
- This episode of the In Our Spare Time podcast.
- Steve Cowley’s TED talk (shorter) and talk at the CU Physics Society (longer). Both easily accessible and fascinating.
- Per Helander’s talk on stellarators.
General plasma physics
- Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Chen (2015) – A gentle introduction to the main ideas in plasma physics.
- The Oxford MMathPhys notes on Collisionless and Collisional Plasma Physics (Parra) as well as Kinetic Theory and MHD (Schekochihin).
Plasma waves
- Waves in Plasmas, Stix (1997) – Traditional plasma waves book, not one I use particularly often though.
- Waves and Oscillations in Plasmas, Pécseli (2012) – One of my favourite plasma waves books.
- Plasma Waves, Swanson (2012) – One of my favourite plasma waves books.
- Ray Tracing and Beyond: Phase Space Methods in Plasma Wave Theory, Tracy et al (2012) – An excellent book on ray tracing, a niche it does justice to.
Turbulence
- Turbulence: The Legacy of A. N. Kolmogorov, Frisch (2010) – A good book on turbulence in general
- Plasma Turbulence, Kadomtsev (1965) – Old but gold
Mathematical background
- Flux Coordinates and Magnetic Field Structure, D’haeseleer et al (1991) – A lucid guide to the complex coordinate systems used in magnetic confinement fusion
- Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering, RHB (2006) – The standard Oxbridge undergraduate textbook for mathematical methods, still very useful at the graduate level.
Plasma diagnostics
- Principles of Plasma Diagnostics, Hutchinson (2005) – The most widely used book on plasma diagnostics, focuses on the physical principles rather than on the exact details of how the diagnostics are implemented.
- Fusion Plasma Diagnostics with mm-Waves, Hartfuß and Geist (2013) – Detailed description of microwave diagnostics.
