Abstract
The maximum amplitude of relativistic plasma oscillations ( near ) is obtained with a combined one-dimensional waterbag and warm-fluid model. The waterbag description is used to obtain expressions for the pressure and internal energy as functions of the proper density. A relativistic Euler's equation that is valid for arbitrarily large amplitudes and an analytic expression for the wave-breaking amplitude in the limit are obtained. Even a small amount of thermal energy can significantly reduce the maximum plasma-wave amplitude relative to the cold wave-breaking value. The significance of the results for recent accelerator schemes is discussed.
- Received 28 July 1987
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.90
©1988 American Physical Society