Soliton solutions and chaotic motions of the Zakharov equations for the Langmuir wave in the plasma

For the interaction between the high-frequency Langmuir waves and low-frequency ion-acoustic waves in the plasma, the Zakharov equations are studied in this paper. Via the Hirota method, we obtain the soliton solutions, based on which the soliton propagation is presented. It is found that with lambda increasing, the amplitude of u decreases, whereas that of v remains unchanged, where lambda is the ion-acoustic speed, u is the slowly-varying envelope of the Langmuir wave, and v is the fluctuation of the equilibrium ion density. Both the head-on and bound-state interactions between the two solitons are displayed. We observe that with lambda decreasing, the interaction period of u decreases, while that of v keeps unchanged. It is found that the Zakharov equations cannot admit any chaotic motions. With the external perturbations taken into consideration, the perturbed Zakharov equations are studied for us to see the associated chaotic motions. Both the weak and developed chaotic motions are investigated, and the difference between them roots in the relative magnitude of the nonlinearities and perturbations. The chaotic motions are weakened with lambda increasing, or else, strengthened. Periodic motion appears when the nonlinear terms and external perturbations are balanced. With such a balance kept, one period increases with lambda increasing. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.