Propagation of nonlinear Alfvén waves in heat-releasing plasma

Abstract

Linear polarized Alfvén waves in the heat-releasing plasma are considered. Wave evolution is described by a nonlinear integro-differential equation first obtained in this article. This equation is reduced to the scalar Cohen-Kulsrud equation with a cubic source term for quasi-harmonic signals. Analysis of this equation reveals that isentropic instability/stability of plasma results in amplification/attenuation of Alfvén waves and increase/decrease of their steepening speed. This analytical prediction is proved by the numerical solution of full system of 1D-MHD equations.