Wave-breaking limits for relativistic electrostatic waves in a one-dimensional warm plasma
- CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
The propagation of electrostatic plasma waves having relativistic phase speed and amplitude has been studied. The plasma is described as a warm, relativistic, collisionless, nonequilibrium, one-dimensional electron fluid. Wave-breaking limits for the electrostatic field are calculated for nonrelativistic initial plasma temperatures and arbitrary phase velocities, and a correspondence between wave breaking and background particle trapping has been uncovered. Particular care is given to the ultrarelativistic regime ({gamma}{sub {phi}}{sup 2}k{sub B}T{sub 0}/(m{sub e}c{sup 2})>>1), since conflicting results for this regime have been published in the literature. It is shown here that the ultrarelativistic wave-breaking limit will reach arbitrarily large values for {gamma}{sub {phi}}{yields}{infinity} and fixed initial temperature. Previous results claiming that this limit is bounded even in the limit {gamma}{sub {phi}}{yields}{infinity} are shown to suffer from incorrect application of the relativistic fluid equations and higher, more realistic wave-breaking limits are appropriate.
- OSTI ID:
- 20860454
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2398927; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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