Effect of trapping in a degenerate plasma in the presence of a quantizing magnetic field

Effect of trapping as a microscopic phenomenon in a degenerate plasma is investigated in the presence of a quantizing magnetic field. The plasma comprises degenerate electrons and non-degenerate ions. The presence of the quantizing magnetic field is discussed briefly and the effect of trapping is investigated by using the Fermi-Dirac distribution function. The linear dispersion relation for ion acoustic wave is derived in the presence of the quantizing magnetic field and its influence on the propagation characteristics of the linear ion acoustic wave is discussed. Subsequently, fully nonlinear equations for ion acoustic waves are used to obtain the Sagdeev potential and the investigation of solitary structures. The formation of solitary structures is studied both for fully and partially degenerate plasmas in the presence of a quantizing magnetic field. Both compressive and rarefactive solitons are obtained for different conditions of temperature and magnetic field. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4752416]