Alfvén solitons in the coupled derivative nonlinear Schrödinger system with symbolic computation

Abstract

The propagation of nonlinear Alfvén waves in magnetized plasmas with right and left circular polarizations is governed by the coupled derivative nonlinear Schrödinger (CDNLS) system. The integrability of this system is indicated by the existence of two gauge-equivalent Lax pairs and infinitely many independent conservation laws. With symbolic computation, the analytic one- and two-soliton solutions are obtained via the Hirota bilinear method. The propagation characteristics of the Alfvén waves are discussed through qualitative analysis. The collision dynamics of the CDNLS solitons is found to be characterized by the invariance of the soliton velocities and widths, parameter-dependent changes of the soliton amplitudes and conservation of the total energy of right- and left-polarized components. The parametric condition for the amplitude-preserving collision occurring in each component is explicitly given.