Nonlinear Magnetosonic Waves in a Multi-Ion-Species Plasma

Abstract

Magnetosonic waves are intensively studied due to their importance in space plasmas and also in fusion plasmas where they are used in particle acceleration and heating experiments. In the present paper we investigate the magnetosonic waves propagating in a multi-ion-species plasma perpendicular to an external magnetic field. Due to the presence of several ion species, this mode splits into two branches: high- and low-frequency modes. This opens a new channel of nonlinear interactions (between these two modes), and qualitatively changes the picture of turbulence in the long-wave region. Using the exact kinetic approach, we derive a general system describing the propagation of nonlinearly coupled high- and low-frequency waves. This system includes the KdV, Boussinesq, and Zakharov equations as limiting cases. Solitary solutions of the system of coupled equations are obtained.