Progress of the Electron Kinetics in Spatial and Spatiotemporal Plasma Structures

A brief introduction into the progress of the analysis of the electron kinetics in spatially one‐ and two‐dimensional steady‐state plasmas and in spatiotemporal transition processes of spatially one‐dimensional plasma configurations is given. The wide spectrum of the involved kinetic problems is briefly characterized, main aspects of its kinetic studies are outlined and the progress reached in recent years is illustrated by the kinetic study and deduced results of some selected problems. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)