Nonplanar dynamics of variable size dust grains in nonextensive dusty plasma

The nonplanar propagation of variable size dust grains in an unmagnetized, collisionless nonplanar (cylindrical) dusty plasma is investigated. The plasma is composed of cold positive and negative dust fluids and nonextensively distributed ions and electrons. The dust size distribution (DSD) is proposed to obey a power law distribution function which is widely applicable in space plasmas. The reductive perturbation technique is employed, and a cylindrical Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation, describing the nonlinear propagation of dust acoustic waves (DAWs), is obtained. New solutions of this evolution equation (hyperbolic, trigeometrical, and rational) are obtained using G'/G-expansion method. In addition, the proposed model permits the two soliton types, i.e., the rarefactive and compressive solitons. It is found that the DSD and nonextensive distributions have drastic effects on the basic properties of the nonlinear cylindrical DAWs; the phase velocity, the amplitude, and the width. The applications of the present findings in certain astrophysics environments (such as Jupiter's magnetosphere and Earth's mesosphere), where both of the DSD and the geometrical effects are important, are discussed. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.