Traveling wave solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations

We propose a simple algebraic method for generating classes of traveling wave solutions for a variety of partial differential equations of current interest in nonlinear science. This procedure applies equally well to equations which may or may not be integrable. We illustrate the method with two distinct classes of models, one with solutions including compactons in a class of models inspired by the Rosenau-Hyman, Rosenau-Pikovsky and Rosenau-Hyman-Staley equations, and the other with solutions including peakons in a system which generalizes the Camassa-Holm, Degasperis-Procesi and Dullin-Gotwald-Holm equations. In both cases, we obtain new classes of solutions not studied before.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures; version to be published in Applied Mathematics Letter

Special solutions to a compact equation for deep-water gravity waves

Recently, Dyachenko & Zakharov (2011) have derived a compact form of the well known Zakharov integro-differential equation for the third order Hamiltonian dynamics of a potential flow of an incompressible, infinitely deep fluid with a free surface. Special traveling wave solutions of this compact equation are numerically constructed using the Petviashvili method. Their stability properties are also investigated. Further, unstable traveling waves with wedge-type singularities, viz. peakons, are numerically discovered. To gain insights into the properties of singular traveling waves, we consider the academic case of a perturbed version of the compact equation, for which analytical peakons with exponential shape are derived. Finally, by means of an accurate Fourier-type spectral scheme it is found that smooth solitary waves appear to collide elastically, suggesting the integrability of the Zakharov equation.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, 41 references. Other author's papers can be downloaded at http://www.lama.univ-savoie.fr/~dutykh

Wave Structures and Nonlinear Balances in a Family of 1+1 Evolutionary PDEs

We study the following family of evolutionary 1+1 PDEs that describe the balance between convection and stretching for small viscosity in the dynamics of 1D nonlinear waves in fluids: m_t + \underbrace{um_x \} _{(-2mm)\hbox{convection}(-2mm)} + \underbrace{b u_xm \} _{(-2mm)\hbox{stretching}(-2mm)} = \underbrace{\nu m_{xx}\ }_{(-2mm)\hbox{viscosity}}, \quad\hbox{with}\quad u=g*m . Here $u=g*m$ denotes $u(x)=\int_{-\infty}^\infty g(x-y)m(y) dy .$ We study exchanges of stability in the dynamics of solitons, peakons, ramps/cliffs, leftons, stationary solutions and other solitary wave solutions associated with this equation under changes in the nonlinear balance parameter $b$.Comment: 69 pages, 26 figure

An Integrable Shallow Water Equation with Linear and Nonlinear Dispersion

We study a class of 1+1 quadratically nonlinear water wave equations that combines the linear dispersion of the Korteweg-deVries (KdV) equation with the nonlinear/nonlocal dispersion of the Camassa-Holm (CH) equation, yet still preserves integrability via the inverse scattering transform (IST) method. This IST-integrable class of equations contains both the KdV equation and the CH equation as limiting cases. It arises as the compatibility condition for a second order isospectral eigenvalue problem and a first order equation for the evolution of its eigenfunctions. This integrable equation is shown to be a shallow water wave equation derived by asymptotic expansion at one order higher approximation than KdV. We compare its traveling wave solutions to KdV solitons.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

Dispersive and diffusive-dispersive shock waves for nonconvex conservation laws

We consider two physically and mathematically distinct regularization mechanisms of scalar hyperbolic conservation laws. When the flux is convex, the combination of diffusion and dispersion are known to give rise to monotonic and oscillatory traveling waves that approximate shock waves. The zero-diffusion limits of these traveling waves are dynamically expanding dispersive shock waves (DSWs). A richer set of wave solutions can be found when the flux is non-convex. This review compares the structure of solutions of Riemann problems for a conservation law with non-convex, cubic flux regularized by two different mechanisms: 1) dispersion in the modified Korteweg--de Vries (mKdV) equation; and 2) a combination of diffusion and dispersion in the mKdV-Burgers equation. In the first case, the possible dynamics involve two qualitatively different types of DSWs, rarefaction waves (RWs) and kinks (monotonic fronts). In the second case, in addition to RWs, there are traveling wave solutions approximating both classical (Lax) and non-classical (undercompressive) shock waves. Despite the singular nature of the zero-diffusion limit and rather differing analytical approaches employed in the descriptions of dispersive and diffusive-dispersive regularization, the resulting comparison of the two cases reveals a number of striking parallels. In contrast to the case of convex flux, the mKdVB to mKdV mapping is not one-to-one. The mKdV kink solution is identified as an undercompressive DSW. Other prominent features, such as shock-rarefactions, also find their purely dispersive counterparts involving special contact DSWs, which exhibit features analogous to contact discontinuities. This review describes an important link between two major areas of applied mathematics, hyperbolic conservation laws and nonlinear dispersive waves.Comment: Revision from v2; 57 pages, 19 figure

Nonintegrable Schrodinger Discrete Breathers

In an extensive numerical investigation of nonintegrable translational motion of discrete breathers in nonlinear Schrodinger lattices, we have used a regularized Newton algorithm to continue these solutions from the limit of the integrable Ablowitz-Ladik lattice. These solutions are shown to be a superposition of a localized moving core and an excited extended state (background) to which the localized moving pulse is spatially asymptotic. The background is a linear combination of small amplitude nonlinear resonant plane waves and it plays an essential role in the energy balance governing the translational motion of the localized core. Perturbative collective variable theory predictions are critically analyzed in the light of the numerical results.Comment: 42 pages, 28 figures. to be published in CHAOS (December 2004