Suprathermal Soliton Solutions to Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation

Abstract

Maxwell distributions are very difficult to find in the low-pressure environment far away the Earth atmosphere, permeated by high temperatures, various types of radiation, highly energetic particles, space debris, and subjected to microgravity, presenting crucial challenges for spacecraft design and operations, and affecting astronaut's health. In this work, the amplitude and half-width of suprathermal soliton solutions to the nonlinear Schrödinger equation are explored with basis on a deformation parameter of a non-Maxwellian distribution. It is found that the ratio of the square of a normalized phase speed of an ion wave to a normalized electron mass may increase by up to 50% due to intense suprathermal effects. It is also found that the soliton amplitude is generally smaller and that the soliton half-width increases with no limit when suprathermal effects are more intense suggesting a greater propensity for dissipation or instability. Possible applications of our analytical formulation to both laboratory and space plasmas are briefly addressed.