Physica Scripta. Vol.

67, 74^76, 2003

Oblique Modulation of Ion-Acoustic Waves in a Warm Plasma

Xue Jukui* and Tang Rongan

Physics and Electronics Engineering College, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

Received August 11, 2002; accepted in revised form September 20, 2002

pacs ref: 52.25.Vy, 52.35.Fp

Abstract where


The stability of oblique modulation of ion-acoustic waves in an unmagnetized q q
warm plasma is studied. A nonlinear Schr˛dinger equation governing the V ¼ ðu; vÞ; H¼ ; :
slow modulation of the wave amplitude is derived. The e¡ect of temperature
qx qy
on the oblique modulational instability of the ion-acoustic wave is
investigated. It is found that the ion temperature signi¢cantly changes the
In the above equations, s ¼ Ti =Teff is the ion temperature
domain of the modulational instability in the k
y plane. ratio, and the other notations have their usual meanings.
The variables t, x, y, ni , V, pi , and f are normalized pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffito
the reciprocal ion plasma frequency o
1 ðo pi ¼ 4pn0 e2 =mi Þ,
1. Introduction pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pi
ffi
e¡ective Debye length leff ð¼ Teff =4pn0 e Þ, unperturbed 2
There has been a great deal of interest in the study of
equilibrium plasma density n0 , e¡ective ion acoustic velocity
modulational instability of ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) in a pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
plasma [1^4] because of its importance to the stability and trans- veff Teff =mi , equilibrium ion pressure p0 ð¼ n0 Ti Þ, and
port of the latter. The slow modulation of a monochromatic Teff =e, respectively. In order to investigate the modulational
plane wave in plasmas can lead to the formation of envelope instability of small but ¢nite amplitude IAWs in the plasma,
solitons, which are described by the nonlinear Schr˛dinger the independent variables are assumed to be x ¼ eðx
vg tÞ
equation (NLSE). In the NLSE, the nonlinearites are in balance and t ¼ e2 t, where e is a small parameter and vg is the group
with the wave group dispersion and the resulting stationary velocity of the wave. The dependent variables are expanded
solutions of the NLSE have an envelope structure. asymptotically as
The modulational instability of the monochromatic IAW 8
> X 1 X1
>
> ¼ þ e nðnÞ
l ðx; tÞ exp½iðk  X
otÞl;
n
has been reported experimentally [1]. Theoretical studies reveal > n 1
>
>
i
that ¢nite ion temperature, presence of light ion impurities, >
> n¼1 l¼
1
>
> X1 X 1
and obliqueness of the modulation are important factors a¡ect- >
>
>
>
> u i ¼ e n
uðnÞ
l ðx; tÞ exp½iðk  X
otÞl;
ing the IAW modulational instability. The e¡ects of ion plasma >
>
>
>
n¼1 l¼
1
temperature on the modulational instability and IAW proper- < X1 X 1
ties have been studied by Xue et al. [4], but only for the case vi ¼ en vðnÞ
l ðx; tÞ exp½iðk  X
otÞl; ð2Þ
>
>
of parallel modulation. Furthermore, previous investigations >
> n¼1 l¼
1
>
> X 1 X1
of oblique modulation of envelope solitary waves are limited >
>
>
> p i ¼ 1 þ e n
pðnÞ
l ðx; tÞ exp½iðk  X
otÞl;
to cold plasmas. Up to now, there is no investigation on how >
>
>
> n¼1 l¼
1
the ion temperature a¡ects the wave instability in the k
y >
> X1 X1
>
>
plane. In this paper, we analyze the modulational instability >
: f ¼ e n
fðnÞ
l ðx; tÞ exp½iðk  X
otÞl;
of IAWs in a warm ion plasma for modulation of the amplitude n¼1 l¼
1
of the carrier wave oblique to the direction of its propagation.
and

2. Governing equations and derivation of the NLSE k ¼ ðk cos y; k sin yÞ; X ¼ ðx; yÞ ð3Þ
Here, we consider an obliquely modulated IAW traveling in the where k is the magnitude of the wave vector and y is the angle
(x, y) plane in a collisionless plasma consisting of warm, inertial made by the wave vector k with the positive x direction. n,
ðnÞ
ions and hot, isothermal, and Boltzmann distributed electrons. V, p and f satisfy the reality condition AðnÞ

l ¼ A l and the
We further assume that the modulated amplitude of the IAW asterisk denotes complex conjugate. Substituting the
varies in the x direction. The normalized £uid equations are expression (2) into Eqs (1) and collecting the terms in the dif-
8 ferent powers of e, we can obtain each nth-order reduced
> qni
>
> þ H  ðni VÞ ¼ 0; equation. For the ¢rst order (n ¼ 1) equation, we obtain
>
> qt
>
> 8
>
>
onð1Þ ð1Þ
< qV þ V  HV þ s Hpi ¼
Hf; l þ k cos yul þ k sin yvl ¼ 0;
1
> >
>
>
>
qt ni ð1Þ >
>
> >
>
>
ouð1Þ ð1Þ
l þ sk cos ypl ¼
k cos yfl ;
ð1Þ
>
> qp <
>
> i
þ V  Hpi þ 3pi H  V ¼ 0;
>
>
ovð1Þ ð1Þ ð1Þ
ð4Þ
> qt
> > l þ sk sin ypl ¼
k sin yfl
>
: 2 >
>
H f ¼ expðfÞ
ni ; >
>
>
>
opð1Þ ð1Þ ð1Þ
l þ 3k cos yul þ 3k sin yvl ¼ 0;
>
>
:
*e-mail: xuejk@163.com ð1 þ k2 l 2 Þfð1Þ ð1Þ
l
nl ¼ 0:

Physica Scripta 67 # Physica Scripta 2003

 Oblique Modulation of Ion-Acoustic Waves in a Warm Plasma 75

The equation for l ¼ 1 gives rise to the following dispersion where

relation for IAWs:
12sð1 þ k2 Þ3 þ 3ð1 þ k2 Þ2
1
C¼
;
k2 6k2
o2 ¼ þ 3sk2 : ð5Þ
1 þ k2 D ¼ f3ð1 þ 4k2 Þs þ 1gC þ 3=2s þ 3sð1 þ k2 Þ2 þ 1=2ð1 þ k2 Þ:
From Eq. (4), we can express the ¢rst-order quantities in The zeroth-harmonic mode (l ¼ 0) for the second-order
terms of fð1Þ
1 as (n ¼ 2) also appears due to the self-interaction of the
8 ð1Þ modulated carrier wave. Its expression cannot be deter-
>
> n ¼ ð1 þ k2 Þfð1Þ 1 ; mined completely within the second order but can be
> 1
>
>
> deduced from the l ¼ 0 component of the third-order (n ¼ 3)
>
> oð1 þ k2 Þ
>
> ð1Þ
¼ cos yfð1Þ
1 ;
u
< 1 equations. Finally, substituting the above derived
k expressions into the l ¼ 1 component of the third-order
ð6Þ
>
> ð1Þ oð1 þ k2 Þ (n ¼ 3) equations, we obtain
>
>
> v1 ¼
> sin yfð1Þ
>
> k 1


2
>
> qf q2 f
: ð1Þ i þ P 2 þ Q
f
f ¼ 0; ð9Þ
p1 ¼ 3ð1 þ k2 Þfð1Þ 1 : qt qx

For the second order (n ¼ 2) equation with l ¼ 1, we obtain for the slow evolution of the amplitude of the perturbation
the second order quantities nð2Þ ð2Þ ð2Þ potential f  fð1Þ
1 . In the above equation, the coe⁄cients
1 , u1 and p1 in terms of
qfð1Þ P and Q are given by
the function fð2Þ
1 and qx :
1

8 1 k2
> qfð1Þ P¼

>
> ð2Þ 2 ð2Þ 2 o3 ð1 þ k2 Þ
>
> n ¼ ð1 þ k Þf
2ik cos y 1
;
>
>
1 1
qx  2 
>
> o þ sk2 o2 2
>
>  3
ðo
3s
1Þ þ 3sðo þ 3sk Þ
2 2
>
> ð1Þ
> uð2Þ ¼ oð1 þ k Þ cos yfð2Þ
iA qf1 ;
2
> ð1 þ k2 Þ2 k2
>
< 1 k 1
qx
ð7Þ 1 k2 o
>
>  cos2 y
þ ; ð10Þ
>
> oð1 þ k2 Þ qfð1Þ 2o ð1 þ k2 Þ2 2k2
>
> vð2Þ ¼ sin yfð2Þ
iB 1 ;
>
> 1
k 1
qx
>
>
>
>
>
> qfð1Þ k2 1
>
>
: pð2Þ ¼ 3ð1 þ k 2 ð2Þ
Þf
6ik cos y 1
; Q¼
1 1
qx 2o 3s
v2g þ 1
 
From the compatibility condition one obtains: o2
 126s2 þ 4 2 ð3s þ 1Þ ð1 þ k2 Þ2 þ 42s þ 21sk2
k
 
k 1 qo
vg ¼ þ 3s cos y ¼ ; k4 k6 k2
o ð1 þ k Þ
2 2 qk
54s2
3 þ
o2 o2 ð1 þ k2 Þ4 ð1 þ k2 Þ2
where
2 4

2k 2k
  7
18s 2
9s 2 cos2 y
1 cos2 y 1 þ k2 o o
A ¼ 3sðk2
1Þ
þo ;
1þk 2 o k2
k4
 þ þ 3ðs
1Þk
18sðs þ 1Þð1 þ k Þ
2 2 2
1 sin 2y ð1 þ k2 Þ2
B ¼ 3sðk2
1Þ
:
1 þ k2 2o

ð1 þ k2 Þ3 3 k2

6s½2sð1 þ 4k Þ þ 1
2

þ 6sk
4s 2
2
The second harmonic mode of the carrier wave is also o 2 o
obtained in terms of ½fð1Þ
1  . This comes from nonlinear self-
2  
ð1 þ k2 Þ2 1 5 k2 k4 ð1 þ k2 Þ
interaction. The component of l ¼ 2 for the second-order 

s þ k2 þ ðs
1Þ 2
2s 2
(n ¼ 2) equations determines the second harmonic quantities o 4 2 o o o

4 
8 ð2Þ 1 k 3 4 3 1 1 þ 3k2
> n2 ¼ f1=2 þ Cð1 þ 4k2 Þg½fð1Þ þ þ s þ sk 2
þ s þ

1  ;
2
>
> o o2 2 4 12o ð1 þ k2 Þ2
>
>
>
> 
 
> ð2Þ
> k
>
>
> u2 ¼ D cos y½fð1Þ1  ;
2 1 þ k2 k4 1 k2 1
> o

þ s: 2 þ s þ : ð11Þ
>
< 12 o 3 o2 oð1 þ k2 Þ
vð2Þ
k
sin y½fð1Þ ð8Þ
2 ¼ D 1  ;
2
>
>
>
> o
>
>
>
>
>
> pð2Þ ð1Þ 2
2 ¼ 3f1=2 þ ð1 þ k Þ þ Cð1 þ 4k Þg½f1  ;
2 2 2 3. Stability analysis and discussion
>
>
>
> Linear stability analysis of (9) shows [4] that the wave is
: ð2Þ
f2 ¼ C½fð1Þ
1  ;
2
modulationally unstable when PQ > 0 in the modulation
# Physica Scripta 2003 Physica Scripta 67
76 Xue Jukui and Tang Rongan
Fig. 1. Plot of P ¼ 0 and Q ¼ 0 in ðk
yÞ plane. (a) s ¼ 0; (b) s ¼ 0:01; (c)
s ¼ 0:5; (d) s ¼ 1.
wavenumber region K 2 < 2Q=Pjf0 j2 . The maximum
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rate is given by jQjjf0 j , which is obtained
2
unstable pgrowth
at K ¼ Q=Pjf0 j. Eq. (10) and (11) show that the
coe⁄cients of the dispersion term P and nonlinear term
Q all depend on the temperature parameter s and oblique
angle y. Therefore, we expect that s and y will a¡ect the
unstable region. To investigate these e¡ects in more detail,
we plot the P ¼ 0 and Q ¼ 0 curves in a polar (k
y) plane
for di¡erent values of s as shown in Fig. 1. It is shown that
there always exists an unstable region when the wave is
obliquely modulated for both cold (s ¼ 0) and warm ions
(s > 0). So the oblique modulation is a major factor causing
the instability. Figure 1(a) indicates that parallel modulation
(y ¼ 0) is always stable for cold IAWs. For warm IAWs, Fig.
1(b) shows that the unstable region drastically increases with
s for small s. This is because the Q ¼ 0 curve is signi¢cantly
e¡ected by ion temperature while the P ¼ 0 curve is not.
Physica Scripta 67
However, when the temperature increases further, as dis-
played in Figs 1(c)^(d), the unstable region decreases
because the value of y at which P ¼ 0 and Q ¼ 0 decreases.
This means that the obliqueness of the modulational insta-
bility decreases with increasing temperature. On the other
hand, to set on the modulational instability, the obliqueness
of modulation for cold IAWs is larger than that for warm
IAW. This indicates that the warm IAWs are more unstable
to small oblique modulation. Figure 1 also indicates that
for a given value of k, there exist two critical values of
y; y1 ; y2 , which determine an unstable band in y1 < y <
y2 . The values of y1 ; y2 depend on s and k. For a ¢xed s,
the unstable band determined by y1 < y < y2 at larger k
is wider than that at small k. That is, the waves with long
wavelength are more stable. As the ion temperature
increases, the unstable region extends toward the small k
region. For parallel modulation, the critical wavenumber
k at which the instability occurs is also reduced with increas-
ing ion temperature. These results show that the ion tem-
perature modi¢es the unstable region in the k
y plane
and it has an important e¡ect on the oblique modulational
instability of IAWs.
In summary, to study small but ¢nite amplitude IAWs in
a plasma, a nonlinear Schr˛dinger equation governing the
slow oblique modulation of the waves in an unmagnetized
warm plasma is derived. The e¡ect of the temperature on the
oblique modulational instability is studied. It is found that
ion temperature signi¢cantly changes the modulational
instability domain in the k
y plane.
Acknowledgement
This project is supported by NWNU-KJCXGC-215.
References
1. Watanabe, S., J. Plasma Phys. 17, 487 (1977).
2. Kako, M. and Hasegawa, A., Phys. Fluids 19, 1967 (1976).
3. Saito, M., Watanabe, S. and Tanaca, H., J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 53, 2304
(1984).
4. Xue, J. K., Duan, W. S. and Lang He, Chinese Phys. 11, 1184 (2002).
# Physica Scripta 2003