Abstract
The effect of nonthermal ions and variable dust charge on small-amplitude nonlinear dust-acoustic (DA) waves is investigated. It is found that both compressive and rarefactive solitons exist and depend on the nonthermal parameter
a
. Using a reductive perturbation theory, a Zakharov–Kuznetsov (ZK) equation is derived. At critical value of
a
,
a
c
, a modified ZK equation with third- and fourth-order nonlinearities, is obtained. Depending on
a
, the solution of the evolution equation reveals whether there is coexistence of both compressive and rarefactive solitary waves or double layers (DLs) with the possibility of their two kinds. In addition, for certain plasma parameters, the solitary wave disappears and a DL is expected. The variation of dust charge number, wave velocity, and soliton amplitude and its width against system parameters is investigated for the DA solitary waves. It is shown that the incorporation of both the adiabatic dust-charge variation and the nonthermal distributed ions modifies significantly the nature of DA solitary waves and DA DLs. The findings of this investigation may be useful in understanding the ion acceleration mechanisms close to the Moon and also enhances our knowledge on pickup ions around unmagnetized bodies, such as comets, Mars, and Venus.