Weakly dissipative dust-ion acoustic wave modulation

Abstract

The modulational instability of dust-ion acoustic (DIA) waves in an unmagnetized dusty plasma is investigated in the presence of weak dissipations arising due to the low rates (compared to the ion oscillation frequency) of ionization recombination and ion loss. Based on the multiple space and time scales perturbation, a new modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation governing the evolution of modulated DIA waves is derived with a linear damping term. It is shown that the combined action of all dissipative mechanisms due to collisions between particles reveals the permitted maximum time for the occurrence of the modulational instability. The influence on the modulational instability regions of relevant physical parameters such as ion temperature, dust concentration, ionization, recombination and ion loss is numerically examined. It is also found that the recombination frequency controls the instability growth rate, whereas recombination and ion loss make the instability regions wider.