It is suggested that low-frequency drift waves can play an important role in the dynamics of electron-positron plasmas comprising some concentration of ions. In the electromagnetic case the drift wave couples with the shear Alfvén wave in an electron-positron-ion plasma. The drift wave frequency can be very low in such plasmas depending on the concentration and density scale lengths of the plasma components. In the nonlinear regime these waves can give rise to dipolar vortices in both electrostatic and electromagnetic limits. The velocity of the nonlinear structure turns out to be different compared to the case of an electron-ion plasma.

• Received 12 April 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.67.057402