Nonlinear rarefactive isothermal ion acoustic waves in magnetized ultrarelativistic degenerate plasmas

Abstract

Abstract Nonlinear rarefactive isothermal ion-acoustic periodic travelling waves (RIIAPTWs) are examined in a magnetized ultrarelativistic degenerate plasma, containing warm fluid ions and ultrarelativistic degenerate inertialess electrons as well as positrons and immobile heavy negative ions. In the linear regime, the excitation of an isothermal ion-acoustic mode and its evolution are investigated. The physical behavior of nonlinear rarefactive isothermal ion-acoustic waves (RIIAWs) in this plasma model is governed by a Zakharov–Kuznetsov (ZK) equation. The analytical solutions for the nonlinear rarefactive isothermal ion-acoustic solitary waves (RIIASWs) and RIIAPTWs are performed by the bifurcation analysis. A careful discussion demonstrates the excitations of RIIASWs and RIIAPTWs are amplified (i.e., the amplitudes become deeper), as the chemical potential (or the Fermi energy at zero temperature) of electrons is decreased. It is found physically that the presence of the ultrarelativistic degenerate positrons and stationary heavy negative ions have strong effects on features of nonlinear RIIASWs and RIIAPTWs. The implications of the present finding in compact astrophysical objects, such as white dwarf stars, have been discussed.