Excitation and the propagation of ion acoustic solitons in nonideal plasmas

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6742837

Chang, H Y

Ion-acoustic soliton propagation in non-ideal plasmas is investigated experimentally and theoretically by modifying the KdV equation and/or using the Kadomstev-Petviashvili (KP) equation. The evolution of the frequency spectrum of a velocity modulated bursts of ions from a fine mesh grid in a plasma is measured and interpreted. Experiments on the propagation of an ion-acoustic soliton into a region of inhomogeneous plasma density are described. It is found that the local amplitude and velocity decrease and the width increases as the soliton propagates into a region of lower density. The propagation of an ion-acoustic soliton from a quiescent plasma region into a localized nonquiescent region is experimentally examined. The soliton properties are preserved although the soliton undergoes an enhanced damping as it propagates in the noisy plasma. The effects of small transverse perturbations are studied by launching solitons from the nonplanar geometries and interpreted using the KP equation.

• Research Organization: Iowa Univ., Iowa City (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6742837
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700108* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Wave Phenomena
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
EXCITATION
INHOMOGENEOUS PLASMA
ION ACOUSTIC WAVES
ION WAVES
PLASMA
PLASMA WAVES
QUASI PARTICLES
QUIESCENT PLASMA
SOLITONS
WAVE PROPAGATION