A one-dimensional particle in cell simulation of large amplitude plasma oscillations is carried out to explore the physics beyond wave breaking in a cold homogeneous unmagnetized plasma. It is shown that after wave breaking, all energy of the plasma oscillation does not end up as random kinetic energy of particles, but some fraction, which is decided by Coffey's wave breaking limit in warm plasma, always remains with two oppositely propagating coherent Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal like modes with supporting trapped particle distributions. The randomized energy distribution of untrapped particles is found to be characteristically non-Maxwellian with a preponderance of energetic particles.

• Received 2 May 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.016410