Stability of ion acoustic nonlinear waves and solitons in magnetized plasmas

TL;DR

This paper investigates the stability of ion acoustic nonlinear waves and solitons in magnetized plasmas, revealing the existence of a critical angle for stability and generalizing previous results to oblique propagation.

Contribution

It extends the understanding of ion acoustic wave stability to include propagation at angles to magnetic fields, recovering known soliton results as special cases.

Findings

Identification of a critical angle for wave stability

Generalization of wave shape and stability results to oblique angles

Recovery of classical soliton results in specific cases

Abstract

Early results concerning the shape and stability of ion acoustic waves are generalized to propagation at an angle to the magnetic field lines. Each wave has a critical angle for stability. Known soliton results are recovered as special cases. A historical overview of the problem concludes the paper.