Abstract: There is a significant body of literature related to the analytic modeling of Alfven waves in the solar wind which takes dispersive magnetohydrodynamics as an idealized basis. In this context, the derivative nonlinear Schrodinger (DNLS) equation has been found by several authors [1–5] to describe the evolution of small amplitude Alfven waves. It may be scaled to the form $$\frac{{\partial b}}{{\partial t}} + \frac{\partial }{{\partial x}}(|b{|^2}b) + i\frac{{{\partial ^2}b}}{{\partial {x^2}}} = 0$$ (1) where b(x,t) is the complex representation of the magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of propagation, x. Although the DNLS neglects a rich variety of mechanisms which affect the propagation of Alfven waves in the solar wind, it does provide a powerful tool for studying their underlying nonlinear behavior.