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Nonlinear Surface Waves in a Strongly Inhomogeneous Plasma
Author(s) -
Lundberg J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
contributions to plasma physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.531
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1521-3986
pISSN - 0863-1042
DOI - 10.1002/ctpp.2150330203
Subject(s) - physics , nonlinear system , dispersion relation , plasma , dispersion (optics) , nonlinear schrödinger equation , electric field , surface wave , quantum electrodynamics , boundary value problem , modulation (music) , mechanics , classical mechanics , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , optics , acoustics
A nonlinear Schrödinger equation which governs the slow modulation of high‐frequency surface waves is derived. This evolution equation is obtained from a nonlinear dispersion relation, derived for a weakly nonlinear semi‐infinite cold plasma, where effects of the finite transition layer are taken into account. The fact that the surface wave frequency coincides with the local plasma frequency somewhere inside the transition layer results in a strongly peaked electric field and a significant modification of previously derived dispersion relations assuming a sharp boundary. The consequences of the weakly nonlinear assumptions are discussed.