Breaking of longitudinal Akhiezer-Polovin waves.

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.