Large amplitude electromagnetic solitons in a fully relativistic magnetized electron-positron-pair plasma

Abstract

Nonlinear propagation of purely stationary large amplitude electromagnetic (EM) solitary waves in a magnetized electron-positron (EP) plasma is studied using a fully relativistic two-fluid hydrodynamic model which accounts for physical regimes of both weakly relativistic $(P\ll nmc^2)$ and ultrarelativistic $(P\gg nmc^2)$ random thermal energies. Here, $P$ is the thermal pressure, $n$ the number density and $m$ the mass of a particle, and $c$ is the speed of light in vacuum. Previous theory in the literature [Phys. Plasmas \textbf{11}, 3078 (2004)] is advanced and generalized by the relativistic thermal motion of both electrons and positrons. While both the sub-Alfv{\'e}nic and super-Alfv{\'e}nic solitons coexist in the weakly relativistic regime, the ultrarelativistic EP plasmas in contrast support only the sub-Alfv{\'e}nic solitons. Different limits of the Mach numbers and soliton amplitudes are also examined in these two physical regimes.