Nonlinear wave collapse, shock, and breather formation in an electron magnetohydrodynamic plasma

Low-frequency nonlinear wave dynamics is investigated in a two-dimensional inhomogeneous electron magnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) plasma in the presence of electron viscosity. In the long-wavelength limit, the dynamics of the wave is found to be governed by a novel nonlinear equation. The result of the moving-frame nonlinear analysis is noteworthy, which shows that this nonlinear equation does have a breather solution and electron viscosity is responsible for the breather. A breather is a nonlinear wave in which energy accumulates in a localized and oscillatory manner. Analytical solution and time-dependent numerical simulation of this novel equation reveal the collapse of a soliton (localized pulse) into a weak noise shelf and formation of shocklike structures.