Abstract
An investigation is presented to examine nonlinear electrostatic waves in a quantum semiconductor plasma. A quantum semiconductor plasma model consisting of electrons and holes is going to be used, which includes exchange-correlation potentials, the quantum recoil effect, and degenerate pressures of electrons and holes. Actually, a nonlinear solitary pulse can be used to represent the intrinsic coherent electrostatic wave in a quantum semiconductor plasma. The propagation and the collision of nonlinear solitary pulses are examined by the extended Poincare-Lighthill-Kuo method. Typical values for the GaAs semiconductors are employed to investigate the basic characteristics of solitary pulses. The numerical studies show that the energies and then the trajectories of nonlinear solitary pulses after the collision are significantly changed due to the effects of the exchange and correlation potentials and the variety in the studied system's geometry. The results obtained here may be useful for gaining a better understanding of the basic features of the nonlinear solitary pulses in quantum semiconductor plasmas. Published by AIP Publishing.