Obliquely propagating electron-acoustic solitary waves

A theoretical investigation is carried out for understanding the properties of obliquely propagating electron-acoustic solitary waves (EASWs) in a magnetized plasma whose constituents are a cold magnetized electron fluid, hot electrons obeying a vortex-like distribution, and stationary ions. It is found that the present plasma model supports EASWs having a positive potential, which corresponds to a dip (hump) in the cold (hot) electron number density. The effects of the external magnetic field and the obliqueness are found to significantly change the basic properties (viz. the amplitude and the width) of the EASWs. The present investigation can be of relevance to the electrostatic solitary structures observed in various space plasma environments (viz. the cusp of the terrestrial magnetosphere, the geomagnetic tail, the auroral regions, etc.). (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.