Articles | Volume 12, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-12-425-2005
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-12-425-2005
23 Mar 2005
23 Mar 2005

Relativistic whistler oscillitons - do they exist?

J. F. McKenzie, E. M. Dubinin, and K. Sauer

Abstract. We examine the effects of relaxing the assumption of quasi-charge neutrality on the propagation of stationary whistler waves. This necessitates that in the wave frame the equations of motion must be made fully relativistic and when this is done, the correct form of the relativistic dispersive effects is recovered. Our numerical solutions indicate that fully relativistic effects can prevent the formation of oscillitons by virtue of the weakening of dispersive effects required to counterbalance those of nonlinear steepening.