Head-on collision of ion acoustic solitary waves in electron-positron-ion nonthermal plasmas for weakly and highly relativistic regimes

Abstract

A comparative study of the interactions between nonlinear ion acoustic solitary waves (IASWs) propagating toward each other, and the electrostatic nonlinear propagation of IASWs, both for the weakly and relativistic regimes consisting of relativistic warm ions, nonthermal electrons, and positrons, is carried out. Two-sided Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equations are derived using the extended Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) method to reveal the physical issues concerned. The effects of positron concentration, ion-electron temperature ratio, electron-positron temperature ratio, relativistic streaming factor, the population of electron, and positron nonthermality on the electrostatic resonances and their phase shifts are investigated for both regimes. It is found that the plasma parameters significantly modify the phase shifts, electrostatic resonances, hump-shaped electrostatic potential profiles, and the electric fields on the nonlinear propagation characteristics of IASWs. The results obtained may be useful for clarifications of interaction between IASWs in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas, especially in pulsar magnetosphere, laser produced, inertial confinement plasmas, and pulsar relativistic winds with supernova ejecta that produce nonthermal electrons, positrons, and relativistic ions.