Publication Date:
2015-02-07
Description:
The propagation of large amplitude ion-acoustic solitons is studied in the laboratory frame ( x , t ) using a 1-D particle-in-cell code that evolves the ion dynamics by treating them as particles but assumes the electrons to follow the usual Boltzmann distribution. It is observed that for very low Mach numbers the simulation results closely match the Korteweg-de Vries soliton solutions, obtained in the wave frame, and which propagate without distortion. The collision of two such profiles is observed to exhibit the usual solitonic behaviour. As the Mach number is increased, the given profile initially evolves and then settles down to the exact solution of the full non-linear Poisson equation, which then subsequently propagates without distortion. The fractional change in amplitude is found to increase linearly with Mach number. It is further observed that initial profiles satisfying k 2 λ d e 2 〈 1 break up into a series of solitons.
Print ISSN:
1070-664X
Electronic ISSN:
1089-7674
Topics:
Physics
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