Head-on collision of ion-acoustic solitary waves in a plasma with a q-nonextensive electron velocity distribution

In this paper, the characteristics of the head-on collision of ion-acoustic solitary waves (IASWs) in the collisionless magnetic-field-free plasma consisting of cold ions, nonextensive electrons and thermal positrons are discussed using the extended Poincare-Lighthill-Kuo method. Two Kortewege-de Vries equations for solitary waves are derived and the analytical phase shifts after the head-on collision of two solitary waves are also obtained. The effects of the electron nonextensive distribution (q-parameter) on the phase shifts of both the colliding solitary waves are studied. It is found that the presence of nonextensive electrons plays a significant role in the collision of IASWs.