Local thermodynamics of a magnetized, anisotropic plasma

Abstract

An expression for the internal energy of a fluid element in a weakly coupled, magnetized, anisotropic plasma is derived from first principles. The result is a function of entropy, particle density and magnetic field, and as such plays the role of a thermodynamic potential: it determines in principle all thermodynamic properties of the fluid element. In particular it provides equations of state for the magnetized plasma. The derivation uses familiar fluid equations, a few elements of kinetic theory, the MHD version of Faraday's law, and certain familiar stability and regularity conditions.