Numerical simulations of one-dimensional solitons

Numerical simulations of (i) the propagation and interactions of one-dimensional Langmuir solitons and (ii) their generation from random fluctuations by an external pump field are presented. The results of particle simulations are compared with computations based on Zakharov’s fluid model. Those computations establish that Langmuir solitons are reasonably long lived entities in one dimension and are accurately described by Zakharov’s equations, provided that resonant particle interactions are taken into account by the inclusion of a damping term. The power spectrum of the electron field fluctuations resulting from the generation of many solitons by an external pump field is compared with the theory of Kingsep, Rudakov, and Sudan.