Solitary kinetic Alfvén waves in dense plasmas with relativistic degenerate electrons and positrons

Propagation of solitary kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) is investigated in small but finite β (particle-to-magnetic pressure ratio) collisionless dense plasma whose constituents are nondegenerate warm ions, and relativistic degenerate electrons and positrons. Through the use of reductive perturbation technique, Kortweg–de Vries equation is derived to obtain small amplitude localized wave solution of KAWs. The effects of plasma β, positron concentration, electron relativistic degeneracy parameter, ion thermal temperature and obliqueness parameter on solitary KAWs are studied. The results of this theoretical investigation are aimed at elucidating characteristics of kinetic Alfvén solitary waves in relativistic degenerate e–p–i plasmas found in dense astrophysical objects specifically neutron stars and white dwarfs.