Modulation of the non-linear ion acoustic waves in a plasma consisting of warm ions and isothermal electrons

Abstract

Modulation of one-dimensional ion acoustic waves in a plasma consisting of a mixture of warm ions and isothermal electrons has been studied using the derivative expansion method. A non-linear Schrodinger-type equation governing the complex amplitude of the perturbed ion density is obtained. The small-wave-number limit has been considered to compare it with the oscillatory solution of the Korteweg-de Vries equation obtained by Tagare and Lai using the reductive perturbation method. A good agreement has been found.