Nonlinear dynamics of relativistically intense cylindrical and spherical plasma waves

Spatio-temporal evolution and breaking of relativistically intense cylindrical and spherical space charge oscillations in a homogeneous cold plasma are studied analytically and numerically using the Dawson Sheet Model [J. M. Dawson, Phys. Rev. 113, 383 (1959)]. It is found that cylindrical and spherical space charge oscillations break via the process of phase mixing at an arbitrarily small amplitude due to anharmonicity introduced by geometry and relativistic mass variation effects. A general expression for phase mixing time (wave breaking time) has been derived and it is shown that for both cases, it scales inversely with the cube of the initial wave amplitude. Finally, this analytically obtained scaling is verified by using a numerical code based on the Dawson Sheet Model. Published by AIP Publishing.