Collision of ion acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized plasma: Effect of dust grains and trapped electrons

Abstract

The head-on collision of two ion acoustic solitary waves is investigated in a magnetized plasma containing trapped electrons and dust grains. For completeness, the fluctuations in dust grain charge are taken into account. By using the extended Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) perturbation method, an analytical expression is obtained for the phase shift that takes place due to the collision of the waves. How the phase shift behaves under the combined effect of trapped electrons and dust grains along with the finite temperature of ions is examined. A focus is given to uncover the situations of fluctuating charge and fixed charge on the dust grains in the plasma. Interestingly, the solitary waves acquire a larger phase shift and are delayed more in the case of dust grains having a fluctuating charge.