Modified Ion-Acoustic Shock Waves and Double Layers in a Degenerate Electron-Positron-Ion Plasma in Presence of Heavy Negative Ions

A general theory for nonlinear propagation of one dimensional modified ion-acoustic waves in an unmagnetized electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) degenerate plasma is investigated. This plasma system is assumed to contain relativistic electron and positron fluids, non-degenerate viscous positive ions, and negatively charged static heavy ions. The modified Burgers and Gardner equations have been derived by employing the reductive perturbation method and analyzed in order to identify the basic features (polarity, width, speed, etc.) of shock and double layer (DL) structures. It is observed that the basic features of these shock and DL structures obtained from this analysis are significantly different from those obtained from the analysis of standard Gardner or Burgers equations. The implications of these results in space and interstellar compact objects (viz. non-rotating white dwarfs, neutron stars, etc.) are also briefly mentioned.