New anallytic approximations based on the Magnus expansion

The Magnus expansion is a frequently used tool to get approximate analytic solutions of time-dependent linear ordinary differential equations and in particular the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics. However, the complexity of the expansion restricts its use in practice only to the first terms. Here we introduce new and more accurate analytic approximations based on the Magnus expansion involving only univariate integrals which also shares with the exact solution its main qualitative and geometric propertie

Singular solutions for a class of traveling wave equations arising in hydrodynamics

We give an exhaustive characterization of singular weak solutions for ordinary differential equations of the form $\ddot{u}\,u + \frac{1}{2}\dot{u}^2 + F'(u) =0$, where $F$ is an analytic function. Our motivation stems from the fact that in the context of hydrodynamics several prominent equations are reducible to an equation of this form upon passing to a moving frame. We construct peaked and cusped waves, fronts with finite-time decay and compact solitary waves. We prove that one cannot obtain peaked and compactly supported traveling waves for the same equation. In particular, a peaked traveling wave cannot have compact support and vice versa. To exemplify the approach we apply our results to the Camassa-Holm equation and the equation for surface waves of moderate amplitude, and show how the different types of singular solutions can be obtained varying the energy level of the corresponding planar Hamiltonian systems.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

The radial-hedgehog solution in Landau-de Gennes' theory

We study the radial-hedgehog solution on a unit ball in three dimensions, with homeotropic boundary conditions, within the Landau-de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. The radial-hedgehog solution is a candidate for a globally stable configuration in this model framework and is also a prototype configuration for studying isolated point defects in condensed matter physics. We use a combination of Ginzburg-Landau techniques, perturbation methods and stability analyses to study the qualitative properties of the radial-hedgehog solution, the structure of its defect core, its stability and instability with respect to biaxial perturbations. Our results complement previous work in the field, are rigorous in nature, give information about the role of geometry, elastic constants and temperature on the properties of the radial-hedgehog solution and the associated biaxial instabilities

Analytic Behaviour of Competition among Three Species

We analyse the classical model of competition between three species studied by May and Leonard ({\it SIAM J Appl Math} \textbf{29} (1975) 243-256) with the approaches of singularity analysis and symmetry analysis to identify values of the parameters for which the system is integrable. We observe some striking relations between critical values arising from the approach of dynamical systems and the singularity and symmetry analyses.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Journal of Nonlinear Mathematical Physic

The analytic value of a 3-loop sunrise graph in a particular kinematical configuration

We consider the scalar integral associated to the 3-loop sunrise graph with a massless line, two massive lines of equal mass $M$, a fourth line of mass equal to $Mx$, and the external invariant timelike and equal to the square of the fourth mass. We write the differential equation in $x$ satisfied by the integral, expand it in the continuous dimension $d$ around $d=4$ and solve the system of the resulting chained differential equations in closed analytic form, expressing the solutions in terms of Harmonic Polylogarithms. As a byproduct, we give the limiting values of the coefficients of the $(d-4)$ expansion at $x=1$ and $x=0$.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

On the wave length of smooth periodic traveling waves of the Camassa-Holm equation

This paper is concerned with the wave length $\lambda$ of smooth periodic traveling wave solutions of the Camassa-Holm equation. The set of these solutions can be parametrized using the wave height $a$ (or "peak-to-peak amplitude"). Our main result establishes monotonicity properties of the map $a\longmapsto \lambda(a)$, i.e., the wave length as a function of the wave height. We obtain the explicit bifurcation values, in terms of the parameters associated to the equation, which distinguish between the two possible qualitative behaviours of $\lambda(a)$, namely monotonicity and unimodality. The key point is to relate $\lambda(a)$ to the period function of a planar differential system with a quadratic-like first integral, and to apply a criterion which bounds the number of critical periods for this type of systems.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure