Head-on collision of ion acoustic solitary waves in an electron-positron-ion plasma with superthermal electrons

The head-on collision of ion acoustic solitary waves in a three-component unmagnetized plasma with cold ions, Boltzmann distributed positrons, and superthermal electrons is investigated using the extended Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo method. The effects of the ratio of electron temperature to positron temperature, the spectral index, κ , of the electron kappa distribution, and fractional concentration of positron component ( p ) on the phase shift are studied. It is found that the presence of superthermal electrons play a significant role on the collision of ion acoustic solitary waves.