Obliquely propagating low-frequency magnetospheric electrostatic solitary waves in the presence of an oxygen-ion beam

Abstract

Nonlinear propagation of finite amplitude low-frequency electrostatic solitary waves is examined in a magnetized three-component plasma consisting of a cold singly-charged oxygen-ion beam and Boltzmann distributed background protons and electrons. The theoretical analysis is carried out by assuming the charge neutrality condition at equilibrium. Using parameters determined from satellite observation data for the magnetopause and plasma sheet regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere, the model shows the existence of positive polarity soliton structures with amplitudes that decrease as the obliquity of the wave propagation increases.