Modulational instability of ion-acoustic waves in a plasma consisting of warm ions and non-thermal electrons

Using the standard reductive perturbation technique, a nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived to study the modulational instability of finite amplitude ion-acoustic waves (IAW) in an unmagnetized plasma consisting of warm adiabatic ions and non-thermal electrons. It is found that the presence of non-thermal electrons modifies the nature of IAW instability and the solitary structures. The effects of non-thermally distributed electrons on the modulational instability and IAW structures are investigated in detail.