Numerical Simulation of Solitary Kinetic Alfvén Waves

Using the two-fluid model in the case of α>>gg 1 (α=βbe/2Q, β is the ratio of thermal pressure to magnetic pressure, and Q=me/mi), we numerically investigate the interactions between two solitary kinetic Alfvén waves (SKAWs) and between an SKAW and a density discontinuity. The results show that the two SKAWs would remain in their original shapes and propagate at their initiating speeds, which indicates that SKAWs behave just like standard solitons. The simulation also shows that SKAWs will reflect and refract when crossing a discontinuity and propagating into a higher density region. The transmission wave is an SKAW with increasing density, and the reverberation is a disturbance with lower amplitude.