Evolution of nonlinear Alfvén waves propagating along the magnetic field in a collisionless plasma

Abstract

It is shown that the asymptotic evolution of a finite-amplitude Alfvén wave propagating parallel to the uniform magnetic field in a warm homogeneous collisionless plasma is governed by the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The dispersion is provided by the ion finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects in the momentum equation and the Hall current and electron pressure corrections to the generalized Ohm's law. In the cold plasma limit the equations reduce to those available in the literature. It is suggested that these calculations can have a bearing on the investigation of the structure of MHD waves in the solar wind.