IAS Scholar Recognized for Kinetic Theory Research
A paper by Chris Hamilton, John N. Bahcall Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences, has been selected for inclusion in the 2024 Early Career Collection published by the Physics of Plasmas journal. The collection highlights “outstanding papers authored by the next generation of plasma physicists.” This recognition is bestowed upon scholars who are listed as the first author on a published paper and are within five years of their Ph.D. defense date.
The 2024 Early Career Collection includes 31 authors and their papers published in topical sections of Physics of Plasmas, selected by the Editors and the Members of the Editorial Board. Hamilton was recognized for his paper titled “Kinetic theory of stellar systems: A tutorial,” co-authored with Jean-Baptiste Fouvry, NASA Hubble Fellow in the School of Natural Sciences (2016–19).
Hamilton and Fouvry’s paper investigates stellar systems—collections of very large numbers of stars interacting via gravity—using kinetic theory as a mathematical approach to understanding them. Kinetic theory is also crucial to describing plasma, a swirling soup of electrically charged particles like electrons and protons that makes up the majority of visible matter in the universe. The article aims to highlight the many direct analogies between stellar- and plasma-kinetic calculations. It provides plasma physicists with a pedagogical introduction to the kinetic theory of stellar systems while highlighting how one can pull ideas directly from one field to solve a problem in the other. Ultimately, Hamilton and Fouvry argue that stellar dynamics and plasma kinetics are, to some extent, the same thing.
Physics of Plasmas is committed to the publication of original research in all areas of experimental, computational, and theoretical plasma physics. It publishes in-depth review manuscripts, forward-looking perspectives, Tutorials on active topics, and Special Topics highlighting new developments.
Read more about the 2024 Early Career Collection on the Physics of Plasmas website.
