Effects of Boundary and Electron Inertia on the Ion Acoustic Wave in a Plasma: A Pseudopotential Approach

Abstract

A pseudopotential approach is used to analyse the propagation of ion-acoustic waves in a plasma bounded by a cylindrical domain. The effect of the finite geometry is displayed both analytically and numerically. The phase velocity of the wave is determined and its variation is studied with respect to the plasma parameters. It is observed that the pseudopotential shows a wide variation of shape due to the imposition of a finite boundary condition. It is shown that if the other parameters are kept within a certain range of values, then the trapping of particles is favoured when the presence of the boundary is taken into account.