Weakly nonlinear dust ion-acoustic shock waves in a dusty plasma with nonthermal electrons

Abstract

Weakly nonlinear dust ion-acoustic (DIA) shock waves are investigated in a dusty plasma with nonthermal electrons. A modified Korteweg–de Vries equation with a cubic nonlinearity is derived. Due to the net negative dust charge μZd and electron nonthermality, the present plasma model can admit compressive and rarefactive weak DIA shock waves. The effect of increasing μZd is to lower the critical nonthermal parameter βc above which only rarefactive DIA shock waves are admitted. Our investigation may help to understand the nonlinear structures observed in the auroral acceleration regions.