Transverse wave propagation along magnetic field lines in a conducting plasma
Alfven waves are fundamental oscillations of a magnetized plasma — transverse perturbations propagating along background magnetic field B₀ at the Alfven speed vA = B₀/sqrt(mu₀·rho). They couple plasma velocity v⊥ to magnetic field perturbation b⊥ via MHD equations. Alfven waves are critical in solar wind, magnetospheric dynamics, and tokamak plasma heating, carrying energy along field lines without compression.