A fully nonlinear theory for stationary whistler waves propagating parallel to the ambient magnetic field in a cold plasma has been developed. It is shown that in the wave frame proton dynamics must be included in a self-consistent manner. The complete system of nonlinear equations can be reduced to two coupled differential equations for the transverse electron or proton speed and its phase, and these possess a phase-portrait integral which provides the main features of the dynamics of the system. Exact analytical solutions are found in the approximation of ‘small’ (but nonlinear) amplitudes. A soliton-type solution with a core filled by smaller-scale oscillations (called ‘oscillitons’) is found. The dependence of the soliton amplitude on the Alfvén Mach number, and the critical soliton strength above which smooth soliton solutions cannot be constructed is also found. Another interesting class of solutions consisting of a sequence of wave packets exists and is invoked to explain observations of coherent wave emissions (e.g. ‘lion roars’) in space plasmas. Oscillitons and periodic wave packets propagating obliquely to the magnetic field also exist although in this case the system becomes much more complicated, being described by four coupled differential equations for the amplitudes and phases of the transverse motion of the electrons and protons.
The properties of fully nonlinear ion-acoustic solitons are investigated by interpreting conservation of total momentum as the structure equation for the proton flow in the wave. In most studies momentum conservation is regarded as the first integral of the Poisson equation for the electric potential and is interpreted as being analogous to a particle moving in a pseudo-potential well. By adopting an essentially gas-dynamic viewpoint, which emphasizes momentum conservation and the properties of the Bernoulli-type energy equations, the crucial role played by the proton sonic point becomes apparent. The relationship (implied by energy conservation) between the electron and proton speeds in the transition yields a locus—the hodograph of the system–which shows that, in the first half of the soliton, the electrons initially lag behind the protons until the charge neutral point is reached, after which they run ahead of the protons. The system reaches an equilibrium point (the center of the soliton) before the proton flow goes sonic. It follows that the critical ion-acoustic Mach number, Mc, above which smooth, continuous solitons cannot be constructed, stems from the requirement that the two equilibrium points of the structure equation coalesce at the proton sonic point of the flow. In general the range of the ion-acoustic Mach numbers, Mep, in which solitons exist, is extended beyond the classical range 1<Mep<1.6. In the special case of cold protons and hot electrons with an adiabatic index 2, the structure equation may be integrated in closed form. This analytic solution describes the fully nonlinear counterpart to the sech2 shaped pulses characteristic of weakly nonlinear waves and shows that solitons exist only if 1<Mep<2. The corresponding maximum potential, associated with the critical ion-acoustic Mach number, can be between 1.3kTe and 10kTe depending upon the values of the adiabatic indices of the electrons and protons and the proton Mach number.
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