ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a formal exposition on the structures of the kinetic theory, with an aim at introducing Yu. L. Klimontovich's microscopic formalism and deriving the Bogoliubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon hierarchy equations for multiparticle distribution functions. It considers the collision term in the kinetic equation: This calls for a study of interparticle correlations, which are not included in a treatment based on the Vlasov A. A. equations. The chapter derives the Balescu-Guernsey-Lenard and investigates its properties. It investigates how correlations evolve in weakly coupled plasmas, where an ordering with respect to the infinitesimal discreteness parameter is a valid concept. Plasma physics is concerned with a rich class of phenomena related to the dynamical processes in statistical mechanics. It is therefore essential to study the structures and properties of the kinetic equations which govern the dynamics of plasmas. The chapter introduces an averaging process based on the Liouville distribution over the 6N-dimensional phase space.
