Influence of electron temperature on breaking of plasma oscillations

Abstract

Abstract The influence of thermal motion of electrons on the processes of relativistic plasma oscillations is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that if the temperature of electrons grows and exceeds a certain critical level, then the breaking effect vanishes due to transformation of plasma oscillations into travelling waves. Analytical conclusions are made in the framework of the theory of small perturbations based on Lagrangian variables. Numerical simulation of the transformation is performed using three different algorithms constructed on the basis of the method of finite differences in Eulerian variables. The analytical results are in good agreement with numerical experiments.