Fluid simulation studies of the dynamical behavior of one-dimensional relativistic electromagnetic solitons

Abstract

A numerical fluid simulation investigation of the temporal evolution of a special class of traveling wave solutions of the one-dimensional relativistic cold plasma model is reported. The solutions consist of coupled electromagnetic and plasma waves in a solitary pulse shape [ Sov. Phys. JETP 49, 75 (1979) ; Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3172 (1992) ; Phys. Plasmas 9, 1820 (2002) ]. Issues pertaining to their stability, mutual collisional interactions, and propagation in an inhomogeneous plasma medium are addressed. It is found that solitary pulses that consist of a single light peak trapped in a modulated density structure are long-lived whereas structures with multiple peaks of trapped light develop an instability at the trailing edge. The interaction properties of two single peak structures show interesting dependencies on their relative amplitudes and propagation speeds and can be understood in terms of their propagation characteristics in an inhomogeneous plasma medium.