NONLINEAR SURFACE-WAVES IN A PLASMA WITH A DIFFUSE BOUNDARY

The propagation of surface waves in a plasma with a diffuse boundary i s considered. Three equations governing the evolution of the system ar e derived. If the excursion length of the electrons in the surface wav e field is smaller than the width of the plasma-vacuum transition laye r, it is found that typically the nonlinear density modifications in t he boundary layer are more important than the previously investigated bulk nonlinearities.