Characterizing ion-acoustic shock wave collisions in Martian multicomponent plasma environments

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Main Authors: Mondal, Jayshree, Chatterjee, Prasanta, Mandi, Laxmikanta, Sahu, Biswajit
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Mondal, Jayshree
Chatterjee, Prasanta
Mandi, Laxmikanta
Sahu, Biswajit
author_facet Mondal, Jayshree
Chatterjee, Prasanta
Mandi, Laxmikanta
Sahu, Biswajit
contents We present theoretical investigation of colliding ion-acoustic (IA) shock waves in Martian multicomponent plasmas consisting of hydrogen ($H^+$), oxygen ($O^+$) and oxygen molecule ($O_2^+$) ions, including background superthermal electrons (modeled by a $κ$-(kappa) distribution function). A set of Burgers' equations is obtained by adopting a modified Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) perturbation method to describe the head-on-collision dynamics of dissipative nonlinear IA wave structures. We have estimated the spatio-temporal scales using parameters typically observed in the Martian atmosphere by the MAVEN spacecraft, for which shock waves are theoretically expected to undergo mutual collisions in the multicomponent plasma. The effects of head-on collisions on the electrostatic potential profiles arising from one-fold and two-fold IA shock interactions are explored. Our numerical analysis reveals that the collision leads to a noticeable broadening of the shock structures with the enhancement of kinematic viscosity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_20626
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Characterizing ion-acoustic shock wave collisions in Martian multicomponent plasma environments
Mondal, Jayshree
Chatterjee, Prasanta
Mandi, Laxmikanta
Sahu, Biswajit
Plasma Physics
Mathematical Physics
We present theoretical investigation of colliding ion-acoustic (IA) shock waves in Martian multicomponent plasmas consisting of hydrogen ($H^+$), oxygen ($O^+$) and oxygen molecule ($O_2^+$) ions, including background superthermal electrons (modeled by a $κ$-(kappa) distribution function). A set of Burgers' equations is obtained by adopting a modified Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo (PLK) perturbation method to describe the head-on-collision dynamics of dissipative nonlinear IA wave structures. We have estimated the spatio-temporal scales using parameters typically observed in the Martian atmosphere by the MAVEN spacecraft, for which shock waves are theoretically expected to undergo mutual collisions in the multicomponent plasma. The effects of head-on collisions on the electrostatic potential profiles arising from one-fold and two-fold IA shock interactions are explored. Our numerical analysis reveals that the collision leads to a noticeable broadening of the shock structures with the enhancement of kinematic viscosity.
title Characterizing ion-acoustic shock wave collisions in Martian multicomponent plasma environments
topic Plasma Physics
Mathematical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.20626