Abstract:
Using the Sagdeev pseudopotential technique, the existence of large amplitude ion-acoustic solitons is investigated for a plasma composed of ions, and hot and cool electrons. Not only are all species treated as adiabatic fluids but the model for which inertial effects of the hot electrons is neglected whilst retaining inertia and pressure for the ions and cool electrons has also been considered. The focus of this investigation has been on identifying the admissible Mach number ranges for large amplitude nonlinear ion-acoustic soliton structures. The lower Mach number limit yields a minimum velocity for the existence of ion-acoustic solitons. The upper Mach number limit for positive potential solitons is found to coincide with the limiting value of the potential (positive) beyond which the ion number density ceases to be real valued, and ion-acoustic solitons can no longer exist. Small amplitude solitons having negative potentials are found to be supported when the temperature of the cool electrons is negligible.
