Formation and recurrence of ion wave solitons

The interaction between an ion wave and its second harmonic is discussed theoretically, on the basis of coupled-mode equations derived from the Korteweg-de Vries equation. Using an exact solution of the coupled-mode equations, we give a numerical analysis of the properties of the solutions; and we show that superposition of two waves can describe the formation of two solitons, the interaction between them, and the recurrence of an initial state. Our theory can explain completely recent experimental results on ion wave solitons excited by a continuous sine wave.

The propagation of a nonlinear wave in a dispersive medium has been extensively studied in the last decade. In a plasma, a finite-amplitude ion wave can form solitons in the course of its evolution, if wave damping is neglected.