Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the AGU-2018 annual session on kappa distributions, with applications in space and astrophysical plasmas: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/prelim.cgi/Session/49135

– TITLE: The Forefront of Kappa Distributions: Understanding Plasma Processes in the Heliosphere

– SUMMARY: Space plasmas are often collisionless and correlated particle systems characterized by a non-Maxwellian behavior, typically
described by the formulations of kappa distributions. These distributions were first widely used to model both the “core” and
“tail” features of the observed distributions. Recent developments explain the origin of kappa distributions through statistical
mechanics and thermodynamics, revealing the robust physical meaning of temperature, kappa index, thermal pressure, entropy, and other
thermodynamic parameters that characterize space plasma properties and processes.

We welcome theoretical, computational, or observational abstracts, involving kappa distributions and reporting on the progress of plasma
processes throughout the heliosphere, from the solar atmosphere and wind to the planetary magnetospheres and heliosheath (e.g., mechanisms generating kappa distributions in space plasmas; linear/nonlinear plasma waves and instabilities; particle acceleration or circulation; connection with pickup ions; polytropes).

– PRIMARY SECTION: Solar and Heliospheric Physics
– CROSS-LISTINGS: Nonlinear Geophysics, Seismology, Aeronomy, Magnetospheric Physics
– CONVENERS: G. Livadiotis, H. Elliott, K. Dialynas, P. Yoon,
– DEADLINE for all submissions: Wednesday, 1 August 2018, 11:59 PM EDT.

The AGU 2018 Fall Meeting will be placed in Washington, D.C.
https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2018/welcome/
Best wishes,

George Livadiotis, PhD
———————————-
Senior Research Scientist
Space Science & Engineering
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, Texas, USA