Nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic waves in a degenerate dense plasma

Nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic (IA) waves in a degenerate dense plasma (with all the constituents being degenerate, for both the non-relativistic or ultrarelativistic cases) have been investigated by the reductive perturbation method. The linear dispersion relation and Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation have been derived, and the numerical solutions of KdV equation have been analysed to identify the basic features of electrostatic solitary structures that may form in such a degenerate dense plasma. The implications of our results in compact astrophysical objects, particularly, in white dwarfs and neutron stars, have been briefly discussed.