Drift ion acoustic solitons in an inhomogeneous 2-D quantum magnetoplasma

Linear and nonlinear propagation characteristics of quantum drift ion acoustic waves are investigated in an inhomogeneous two-dimensional plasma employing the quantum hydrodynamic (QHD) model. In this regard, the dispersion relation of the drift ion acoustic waves is derived and limiting cases are discussed. In order to study the drift ion acoustic solitons, nonlinear quantum Kadomstev-Perviashvilli (KP) equation in an inhomogeneous quantum plasma is derived using the drift approximation. The solution of quantum KP equation using the tangent hyperbolic (tanh) method is also presented. The variation of the soliton with the quantum Bohm potential, the ratio of drift to soliton velocity in the co-moving frame, v+/u and the increasing magnetic field are also investigated. It is found that the increasing number density decreases the amplitude of the soliton. It is also shown that the fast drift soliton (i.e., v(*) > u) decreases whereas the slow drift sollton (i.e., v(*) < u) increases the amplitude of the soliton. Finally, it is shown that the increasing magnetic field increases the amplitude of the quantum drift ion acoustic soliton. The stability of the quantum KP equation is also investigated. The relevance of the present investigation in dense astrophysical environments is also pointed out. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.