Table of contents

Solar energy is radiated into space mainly in two forms: as electromagnetic radiation energy over a wide range of wavelengths, and as kinetic and thermal energy of the solar wind plasma. The former freely propagates through the interplanetary space, and only undergoes some changes and transformations in the atmospheres of the Earth and of other planets. In contrast to this, the solar wind plasma energy is continually transferred from one form to another. The most effective processes of energy conversion take place within interplanetary shocks, in magnetic barrier regions, and in magnetic field reconnection layers. A short description of these processes is presented. There has been extensive research into the possible mechanism(s) linking solar activity to the state of the lower atmosphere and the weather. The author discusses the mechanisms based on the supposition that variations in the transparency of the atmosphere at the stratospheric level occur in association with various phenomena resulting from solar activity. The author also reviews the corresponding literature.

We review the progress in the theory of one-dimensional (ID) Fermi liquids which has occurred over the past decade. The usual Fermi liquid theory, based on a quasi-particle picture, breaks down in one dimension because of the Peierls divergence in the particle-hole bubble, producing anomalous dimensions of operators, and because of charge-spin separation. Both are related to the importance of scattering processes transferring finite momentum. A description of the low-energy properties of gapless 1D quantum systems can be based on the exactly solvable Luttinger model which incorporates these features, and whose correlation functions can be calculated. Special properties of the eigenvalue spectrum, parameterized by one renormalized velocity and one effective coupling constant per degree of freedom, fully describe the physics of this model. Other gapless 1D models share these properties in a low-energy subspace. The concept of a "Luttinger liquid" implies that their low-energy properties are described by an effective Luttinger model, and constitutes the universality class of these quantum systems. Once the mapping on the Luttinger model is achieved, one has an asymptotically exact solution of the 1D many-body problem. Lattice models identified as Luttinger liquids include the 1D Hubbard model off half-filling, and variants such as the t-J- or the extended Hubbard model. In addition, 1D electron-phonon systems or metals with impurities can be Luttinger liquids, as well as the edge states in the quantum Hall effect.