Weak self-adjointness and conservation laws for a porous medium equation

The concepts of self-adjoint and quasi self-adjoint equations were introduced by Ibragimov (2006, 2007) [4], [7]. In Ibragimov (2007) [6] a general theorem on conservation laws was proved. In Gandarias (2011) [3] we generalized the concept of self-adjoint and quasi self-adjoint equations by introducing the definition of weak self-adjoint equations. In this paper we find the subclasses of weak self-adjoint porous medium equations. By using the property of weak self-adjointness we construct some conservation laws associated with symmetries of the differential equation.     

Conservations laws for a porous medium equation through nonclassical generators

In Ibragimov (2007) [13] a general theorem on conservation laws was proved. In Gandarias (2011) and Ibragimov (2011) [7], [15] the concepts of self-adjoint and quasi self-adjoint equations were generalized and the definitions of weak self-adjoint equations and nonlinearly self-adjoint equations were introduced. In this paper, we find the subclasses of nonlinearly self-adjoint porous medium equations. By using the property of nonlinear self-adjointness, we construct some conservation laws associated with classical and nonclassical generators of the differential equation.     

New classes of nonlinearly self-adjoint evolution equations of third- and fifth-order

In a recent communication Ibragimov introduced the concept of nonlinearly self-adjoint differential equation [Ibragimov NH. Nonlinear self-adjointness and conservation laws. J Phys A Math Theor 2011;44:432002 (8pp.)]. In this paper a nonlinear self-adjoint classification of a general class of fifth-order evolution equation with time dependent coefficients is presented. As a result five subclasses of nonlinearly self-adjoint equations of fifth-order and four subclasses of nonlinearly self-adjoint equations of third-order are obtained. From the Ibragimov’s theorem on conservation laws [Ibragimov NH. A new conservation theorem. J Math Anal Appl 2007;333:311–28] conservation laws for some of these equations are established.     

Nonlinear self-adjointness through differential substitutions

It is known (Ibragimov, 2011; Galiakberova and Ibragimov, 2013) [14,18] that the property of nonlinear self-adjointness allows to associate conservation laws of the equations under study, with their symmetries. In this paper we show that, even when the equation is nonlinearly self-adjoint with a non differential substitution, finding the explicit form of the differential substitution can provide new conservation laws associated to its symmetries. By using the general theorem on conservation laws (Ibragimov, 2007) [11] and the property of nonlinear self-adjointness we find some new conservation laws for the modified Harry-Dym equation. By using a differential substitution we construct a conservation law for the Harry-Dym equation, which has not been derived before using Ibragimov method.     

Self-adjointness and conservation laws of two variable coefficient nonlinear equations of Schrödinger type

In this paper, some recent concepts and results on self-adjointness and conservation laws are applied to two variable coefficient nonlinear equations of Schrödinger type: the generalized variable coefficient nonlinear Schrödinger (GVCNLS) equation and the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger (CQNLS) equation with variable coefficients. The two equations are changed to two real systems by a proper transformation. To obtain the formal Lagrangians of the two systems, we discuss their self-adjointness and find that the GVCNLS system is weak self-adjoint and the CQNLS system is quasi self-adjoint. Having performed Lie symmetry analysis for the two systems, we find five nontrivial conservation laws for the GVCNLS system and four nontrivial conservation laws for the CQNLS system by using a general theorem on conservation laws given by Ibragimov.     

Symmetries and nonlocal conservation laws of the general magma equation

In this paper the general magma equation modelling a melt flow in the Earth’s mantle is discussed. Applying the new theorem on nonlocal conservation laws [Ibragimov NH. A new conservation theorem. J Math Anal Appl 2007;333(1):311–28] and using the symmetries of the model equation nonlocal conservation laws are computed. In accordance with Ibragimov [Ibragimov NH. Quasi-self-adjoint differential equations. Preprint in Archives of ALGA, vol. 4, BTH, Karlskrona, Sweden: Alga Publications; 2007. p. 55–60, ISSN: 1652-4934] it is shown that the general magma equation is quasi-self-adjoint for arbitrary m and n and self-adjoint for n = ?m. These important properties are used for deriving local conservation laws.     

Self-adjointness and conservation laws for Kadomtsev–Petviashvili–Burgers equation

In this work we study the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili–Burgers equation, which is a natural model for the propagation of the two-dimensional damped waves. We show that the equation is nonlinear self-adjoint and it will become strict self-adjoint or weak self-adjoint in some equivalent form. By using Ibragimov’s theorem on conservation laws we find some conservation laws for this equation.     

Nonlinear self-adjointness and conservation laws for a generalized Fisher equation

In this work we study a generalization of the well known Fisher equation. We determine the subclasses of these equations which are nonlinear self-adjoint. By using a general theorem on conservation laws proved by Nail Ibragimov and the symmetry generators we find conservation laws for these partial differential equations without classical Lagrangians.     

Conservation laws for a variable coefficient nonlinear diffusion–convection–reaction equation

We find the Lie point symmetries of a class of second-order nonlinear diffusion–convection–reaction equations containing an unspecified coefficient function of the independent variable t and determine the subclasses of these equations which are nonlinearly self-adjoint. By using a general theorem on conservation laws proved recently by N.H. Ibragimov we establish conservation laws corresponding to the aforementioned Lie point symmetries, one by one, for the simultaneous system of the original equation together with its adjoint equation through a formal Lagrangian. Particularly, for the nonlinearly self-adjoint subclasses, we construct conservation laws for the corresponding equations themselves.     

On the nonlinear self-adjointness and local conservation laws for a class of evolution equations unifying many models

In this paper we consider a class of evolution equations up to fifth-order containing many arbitrary smooth functions from the point of view of nonlinear self-adjointness. The studied class includes many important equations modeling different phenomena. In particular, some of the considered equations were studied previously by other researchers from the point of view of quasi self-adjointness or strictly self-adjointness. Therefore we find new local conservation laws for these equations invoking the obtained results on nonlinearly self-adjointness and the conservation theorem proposed by Nail Ibragimov.     

Self-adjointness of a generalized Camassa-Holm equation

It is well known that the Camassa-Holm equation possesses numerous remarkable properties characteristic for KdV type equations. In this paper we show that it shares one more property with the KdV equation. Namely, it is shown in [1] and [2] that the KdV and the modified KdV equations are self-adjoint. Starting from the generalization [3] of the Camassa-Holm equation [4], we prove that the Camassa-Holm equation is self-adjoint. This property is important, e.g. for constructing conservation laws associated with symmetries of the equation in question. Accordingly, we construct conservation laws for the generalized Camassa-Holm equation using its symmetries.     

How to find solutions,Lie symmetries,and conservation laws of forced Korteweg–de Vries equations in optimal way

It is shown that the forced Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation studied in the recent papers [A.H. Salas, Computing solutions to a forced KdV equation, Nonlinear Anal. RWA 12 (2011) 1314–1320] and [M.L. Gandarias, M.S. Bruzón, Some conservation laws for a forced KdV equation, Nonlinear Anal. RWA 13 (2012) 2692–2700] is reduced to the classical (constant-coefficient) KdV equation by point transformations for all values of variable coefficients. The equivalence-based approach proposed in [R.O. Popovych, O.O. Vaneeva, More common errors in finding exact solutions of nonlinear differential equations: part I, Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul. 15 (2010) 3887–3899] allows one to obtain more results in a much simpler way.     

Nonlinear self-adjointness of a 2D generalized second order evolution equation

We study the nonlinear self-adjointness of a general class of quasilinear 2D second order evolution equations which do not possess variational structure. For this purpose, we use the method of Ibragimov, devised and developed recently. This approach enables one to establish the conservation laws for any differential equation. We first obtain conditions determining the self-adjoint sub-class in the general case. Then, we establish the conservation laws for important particular cases: the Ricci Flow equation, the modified Ricci Flow equation and the nonlinear heat equation.     

Conservation laws for a modified lubrication equation

In this work we study the conservation laws of a modified lubrication equation, which describes the dynamics of the interfacial motion in phase transition. We show that the equation is nonlinear self-adjoint and has an exact Lagrangian with an auxiliary function. As a result, by a general theorem on conservation laws proved by Nail Ibragimov recently and Noether’s theorem, some new conservation laws for the equation are obtained. Our results show that the non-locally defined conservation laws generated by Noether’s theorem are equivalent to the local ones given by Ibragimov’s theorem.     

On the nonlinear self-adjointness of the Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation

A new general theorem, which does not require the existence of Lagrangians, allows to compute conservation laws for an arbitrary differential equation. This theorem is based on the concept of self-adjoint equations for nonlinear equations. In this paper we show that the Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation is self-adjoint and nonlinearly self-adjoint. This property is used to compute conservation laws corresponding to the symmetries of the equation. In particular the property of the Zakharov–Kuznetsov equation to be self-adjoint and nonlinearly self-adjoint allows us to get more conservation laws.     

Conservation laws and exact solutions of a Generalized Benjamin–Bona–Mahony–Burgers equation

The concept of nonlinear self-adjointness given by Ibragimov is applied to a Generalized Benjamin–Bona–Mahony–Burgers equation. Then, a nonlinear self-adjoint classification has been achieved. Moreover, some nontrivial conservation laws are constructed by using the multipliers method which does not require the use of a variational principle. Finally, by applying the modified simplest equation method we derive new travelling wave solutions.     

Conservation laws for one-layer shallow water wave systems

The problem of correspondence between symmetries and conservation laws for one-layer shallow water wave systems in the plane flow, axisymmetric flow and dispersive waves is investigated from the composite variational principle of view in the development of the study [N.H. Ibragimov, A new conservation theorem, Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, 333(1) (2007) 311–328]. This method is devoted to construction of conservation laws of non-Lagrangian systems. Composite principle means that in addition to original variables of a given system, one should introduce a set of adjoint variables in order to obtain a system of Euler–Lagrange equations for some variational functional. After studying Lie point and Lie–Bäcklund symmetries, we obtain new local and nonlocal conservation laws. Nonlocal conservation laws comprise nonlocal variables defined by the adjoint equations to shallow water wave systems. In particular, we obtain infinite local conservation laws and potential symmetries for the plane flow case.     

A new nonlinear functional for general scalar conservation laws

The approach based on the construction of some nonlinear functionals was proved to be robust in the study of the well-posedness theories of hyperbolic conservation laws, especially in one space dimensional case. In particular, a generalized entropy functional was constructed in [T.-P. Liu, T. Yang, A new entropy functional for scalar conservation laws, Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 52 (1999) 1427-1442] for the L¹ stability of weak solutions. However, this generalized functional is so far only defined for scalar equations with convex flux function. In this paper, we introduce a new nonlinear functional which is motivated by the new Glimm functional introduced in [J.-L. Hua, Z.-H. Jiang, T. Yang, A new Glimm functional and convergence rate of Glimm scheme for general systems of hyperbolic conservation laws, preprint] for general scalar conservation laws. This functional improves the one given in [H.-X. Liu, T. Yang, A nonlinear functional for general scalar hyperbolic conservation laws, J. Differential Equations 235 (2) (2007) 658-667] and it can be viewed as a better attempt for the generalized entropy functional for general equations.     

Self-adjoint sub-classes of generalized thin film equations

In this work we consider a class of fourth-order nonlinear partial differential equation containing several un-specified coefficient functions of the dependent variable which encapsulates various mathematical models used, e.g. for describing the dynamics of thin liquid films. We determine the subclasses of these equations which are self-adjoint. By using a general theorem on conservation laws proved by one of the authors (NHI) we find conservation laws for some of these partial differential equations without classical Lagrangians.     

Generalized Glimm scheme to the initial boundary value problem of hyperbolic systems of balance laws

In this paper we provide a generalized version of the Glimm scheme to establish the global existence of weak solutions to the initial-boundary value problem of 2×2 hyperbolic systems of conservation laws with source terms. We extend the methods in [J.B. Goodman, Initial boundary value problem for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, 1982; J.M. Hong, An extension of Glimm’s method to inhomogeneous strictly hyperbolic systems of conservation laws by “weaker than weak” solutions of the Riemann problem, J. Differential Equations 222 (2006) 515-549] to construct the approximate solutions of Riemann and boundary Riemann problems, which can be adopted as the building block of approximate solutions for our initial-boundary value problem. By extending the results in [J. Glimm, Solutions in the large for nonlinear hyperbolic systems of equations, Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 18 (1965) 697-715] and showing the weak convergence of residuals, we obtain stability and consistency of the scheme.