Overtaking interaction of electron-acoustic solitons in Saturn’s magnetosphere

Abstract

The progression of nonlinear electron-acoustic waves (EAWs) in a magnetized and collision-free plasma made up of cold inertial electrons, inertialess superthermal electrons, and stationary background ions with special reference to Saturn’s magnetosphere (SMS) is explored. The method of reductive perturbation (MRP) is employed to obtain the evolution equation (i.e., Zakharov– Kuznetsov equation (ZKE)) that governs the propagation of electron acoustic solitons (EASs). Using the elegant and efficient Hirota bilinear method (HBM), multi-soliton solutions (MSSs) of the ZKE are determined. The impact of the effects of hot-to-cold electron density ratio, magnetic field (MF) strength, and superthermality on single as well as the interaction of EASs is examined. Estimates of the values of the electric field at several radii of SMS (i.e., 12 R s − 17.8 R s, where R s is the radius of Saturn) are presented, which are found in μV/ m to mV/ m range and are in perfect agreement with the data from Cassini radio and plasma wave science wideband receiver. Moreover, the influence of the relevant plasma parameters on the interaction time and spatial extent of the interacting EASs is also explored.