Faculty of Physics and Astronomy

PD DR. HORST FICHTNER, CHAIR OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS IV

The research is mainly focused on the acceleration and propagation of non-thermal particle populations and on fluctuations in high-temperature plasmas. Regarding the first topic the activities comprise the theory of newly introduced regularized kappa distributions for the treatment of suprathermal particles, an analysis of nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration of intermediate-energy cosmic rays, and the propagation of high-energy cosmic ray particles in the direct vicinity of the Sun. With respect to the second topic, the transport of fluctuations in the sub-sonic plasma in the so-called inner helisosheath of the heliosphere is studied as well as the wave-driving of the solar wind within the solar corona. The corresponding frameworks reach from the equations of motions of indi-vidual particles, via kinetic transport equations for distributions functions, to the magnetohydrodynamic fluid modelling of their velocity moments. 

Keywords: space and astrophysical plasmas, kinetic theory, magnetohydrodynamics, plasma fluctuations 

Webpage: Theoretical Physics IV