Gas-dynamic approach in the nonlinear theory of ion acoustic waves in a plasma: An exact solution

An exact solution of the problem of the acoustic wave structure in a plasma is obtained. Both plasma component are treated as gases with specified initial temperatures and adiabatic exponents. The system of equations describing the wave profile is solved using an original method consisting of reducing the system to the Bernoulli equation. A numerical example of the obtained general solution of the problem of the wave profile for arbitrary parameters is given. Curves are constructed that bound the region of existence of a stationary solitary ion acoustic wave in the parameter space. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 3–11, September–October, 2007.