We extend the invariant manifold method for analyzing the asymptotics of
dissipative partial differential equations on unbounded spatial domains to
treat equations in which the linear part has order greater than two. One
important example of this type of equation which we analyze in some detail is
the Cahn-Hilliard equation. We analyze the marginally stable solutions of this
equation in some detail. A second context in which such equations arise is in
the Ginzburg-Landau equation, or other pattern forming equations, near a
codimension-two bifurcation