Shock-like solutions of the electrostatic Vlasov equation

Abstract

It is shown how to construct shock-like time independent solutions of the electrostatic Vlasov and Poisson Equations in one dimension. The positive ions are assumed to be at zero temperature. The electrostatic potential is assumed to increase monotonically through the shock from zero to a constant value. The most important feature of the solution is a population of trapped electrons in the shocked plasma. In contrast to time-independent solutions based upon fluid equations, there is no upper limit on the amplitude of the shock.