Arbitrary-amplitude theory of ion-acoustic solitons in warm multi-fluid plasmas

A recently described numerical theory for obtaining the Sagdeev and real potential profiles of stationary wave forms in a plasma consisting of double-Maxwellian electrons and two or more species of warm ions is used for the study of solitons in such a plasma. The effects of ion temperature and light-ion concentration on rarefactive ion-acoustic soliton profiles in a double-ion plasma obtained with this large-amplitude theory are compared with those predicted from a Korteweg-de Vries equation. Application of the theory to the work of Nakamura and co-workers is discussed, and we draw attention to ion thermal effects.