On solitary waves in plasma

Abstract

From the equations of hydrodynamics and electrodynamics, a system of coupled nonlinear equations governing the propagation of plane electromagnetic waves in a collisionless electron plasma is obtained. It is shown that solitary wave solutions exists for both the longitudinal and transverse components of the electromagnetic field. It is found that the velocity of the electromagnetic vector solitary wave depends on the amplitudes of all components of the field linearly. The relations among the longitudinal and transverse components that support the solitary waves are determined for different values of plasma temperature. It is shown that while transverse solitary waves cannot exist, except when they are supported by longitudinal waves, the latter can exist by themselves. The interaction of the longitudinal solitary waves with each other is studied and an upper bound on the amplitudes of these waves is obtained. A Lagrangian density function and two conservation laws for the longitudinal wave equation are found. Frequency spectra of the solitary waves are calculated and their low frequency content is emphasized.