Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

High-Resolution Endocardial and Epicardial Optical Mapping in a Sheep Model of Stretch-Induced Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 29, 2011
Breaking of longitudinal Akhiezer-Polovin waves
Prabal Singh Verma1, Sudip Sengupta, Predhiman Kaw
1Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar-382 428, India. prabal@ipr.res.in
Abstract:
The breaking of longitudinal Akhiezer-Polovin (AP) waves is demonstrated using a one-dimensional simulation based on the Dawson sheet model. It is found that the AP longitudinal waves break through the process of phase mixing at an amplitude well below the breaking amplitude for AP waves, when subjected to arbitrarily small longitudinal perturbations. Results from the simulation show a good agreement with the Dawson phase mixing formula modified to include relativistic mass variation effects. This result may be of direct relevance to the laser- or particle-beam plasma wakefield experiments.
Related Concept Videos
Propagation of Waves
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Fixing Double-strand Breaks
Fixing Double-strand Breaks
Travelling Waves
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is water;...
Shock Waves
When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high pressures...
Interference and Diffraction

