Non-Maxwellian effects in magnetosonic solitons

The role of non-Maxwellian effects on magnetosonic (MS) solitons propagating perpendicular to the external magnetic field in high- β plasmas is analysed. It is shown that they can exist in the form of either humps or holes in the magnetic field in which the field is either increased or decreased relative to the background magnetic field. The shape of the solitary structure depends upon both the form of the ion velocity distribution function and the wave dispersion. A nonlinear equation describing the propagation of MS solitons in high- β plasmas with an arbitrary particle velocity distribution function is derived. It is shown that for Maxwellian and bi-Maxwellian plasmas MS solitons can only exist in the form of the magnetic humps. The same is true for plasmas possessing either a kappa distribution or Kennel–Ashour–Abdalla equilibria. However, plasmas with a ring type ion velocity distribution or a Dory–Guest–Harris distribution with large loss-cone index can support the formation of magnetic holes. The theoretical results obtained are then compared with recent satellite observations.