On the optimal focusing of solitons and breathers in long‐wave models

Conditions of optimal (synchronized) collisions of any number of solitons and breathers are studied within the framework of the Gardner equation (GE) with positive cubic nonlinearity, which in the limits of small and large amplitudes tends to other long‐wave models, the classic and the modified Korteweg–de Vries equations. The local solution for an isolated soliton or breather within the GE is obtained. The wave amplitude in the focal point is calculated exactly. It exhibits a linear superposition of partial amplitudes of the solitons and breathers. The crucial role of the choice of proper soliton polarities and breather phases on the cumulative wave amplitude in the focal point is demonstrated. Solitons are most synchronized when they have alternating polarities. The straightforward link to the problem of synchronization of envelope solitons and breathers in the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation is discussed (then breathers correspond to envelope solitons propagating above a condensate).     

Disintegration of Cnoidal Waves over Smooth Topography

The transformation of cnoidal waves in a basin with smooth topography is studied in the frame of the variable-coefficient Korteweg–de Vries equation and the generalized Zakharov's system. It is shown that the cnoidal structure of the propagating nonlinear wave is destroyed if the topography contains a periodic component with a characteristic scale close to the nonlinearity length. Focusing on waves in intermediate depth, a simple analytical model based on a two-harmonic representation of the cnoidal wave demonstrates the main features of the process of disintegration of the cnoidal structure of the nonlinear wave. Numerical simulations of the interaction of several harmonics confirm the analytical conclusions.     

Conservation Laws,Hamiltonian Structure,Modulational Instability Properties and Solitary Wave Solutions for a Higher‐Order Model Describing Nonlinear Internal Waves

Recent theoretical advances in connecting the wave‐induced mean flow with the conserved pseudomomentum per unit mass has permitted the first rational derivation of a model that describes the weakly nonlinear propagation of internal gravity plane waves in a continuously stratified fluid. Depending on the particular parameter regime examined the new model corresponds to an extended bright or dark derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation or an extended complex‐valued modified Korteweg‐de Vries or Sasa–Satsuma equation. Mass, momentum, and energy conservation laws are derived. A noncanonical infinite‐dimensional Hamiltonian formulation of the model is introduced. The modulational stability characteristics associated with the Stokes wave solution of the model are described. The bright and dark solitary wave solutions of the model are obtained.     

Solitary Wave Transformation Due to a Change in Polarity

Solitary wave transformation in a zone with sign-variable coefficient for the quadratic nonlinear term is studied for the variable-coefficient Korteweg–de Vries equation. Such a change of sign implies a change in polarity for the solitary wave solutions of this equation. This situation can be realized for internal waves in a stratified ocean, when the pycnocline lies halfway between the seabed and the sea surface. The width of the transition zone of the variable nonlinear coefficient is allowed to vary over a wide range. In the case of a short transition zone it is shown using asymptotic theory that there is no solitary wave generation after passage through the turning point, where the coefficient of the quadratic nonlinear term goes to zero. In the case of a very wide transition zone it is shown that one or more solitary waves of the opposite polarity are generated after passage through the turning point. Here, asymptotic methods are effective only for the first (adiabatic) stage when the solitary wave is approaching the turning point. The results from the asymptotic theories are confirmed by direct numerical simulation. The hypothesis that the pedestal behind the solitary wave approaching the turning point has a significant role on the generation of the terminal solitary wave after the transition zone is examined. It is shown that the pedestal is not the sole contributor to the amplitude of the terminal solitary wave. A negative disturbance at the turning point due to the transformation in the zone of the variable nonlinear coefficient contributes as much to the process of the generation of the terminal solitary waves.     

Terminal Damping of a Solitary Wave Due to Radiation in Rotational Systems

The evolution of a solitary wave under the action of rotation is considered within the framework of the rotation-modified Korteweg–de Vries equation. Using an asymptotic procedure, the solitary wave is shown to be damped due to radiation of a dispersive wave train propagating with the same phase velocity as the solitary wave. Such a synchronism is possible because of the presence of rotational dispersion. The law of damping is found to be "terminal" in the sense that the solitary wave disappears in a finite time. The radiated wave amplitude and the structure of the radiated "tail" in space–time are also found. Some numerical results, which confirm the approximate theory developed here, are given.     

Generation of Secondary Solitary Waves in the Variable-Coefficient Korteweg–de Vries Equation

We consider the solitary wave solutions of a Korteweg–de Vries equation, where the coefficients in the equation vary with time over a certain region. When these coefficients vary rapidly compared with the solitary wave, then it is well known that the solitary wave may fission into two or more solitary waves. On the other hand, when these coefficients vary slowly, the solitary wave deforms adiabatically with the production of a trailing shelf. In this paper we re-examine this latter case, and show that the trailing shelf, on a very long time-scale, can lead to the generation of small secondary solitary waves. This result thus provides a connection between the adiabatic deformation regime and the fission regime.     

Modulation theory solution for nonlinearly resonant,fifth‐order Korteweg–de Vries,nonclassical, traveling dispersive shock waves

A new class of resonant dispersive shock waves was recently identified as solutions of the Kawahara equation— a Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) type nonlinear wave equation with third‐ and fifth‐order spatial derivatives— in the regime of nonconvex, linear dispersion. Linear resonance resulting from the third‐ and fifth‐order terms in the Kawahara equation was identified as the key ingredient for nonclassical dispersive shock wave solutions. Here, nonlinear wave (Whitham) modulation theory is used to construct approximate nonclassical traveling dispersive shock wave (TDSW) solutions of the fifth‐ order KdV equation without the third derivative term, hence without any linear resonance. A self‐similar, simple wave modulation solution of the fifth order, weakly nonlinear KdV–Whitham equations is obtained that matches a constant to a heteroclinic traveling wave via a partial dispersive shock wave so that the TDSW is interpreted as a nonlinear resonance. The modulation solution is compared with full numerical solutions, exhibiting excellent agreement. The TDSW is shown to be modulationally stable in the presence of sufficiently small third‐order dispersion. The Kawahara–Whitham modulation equations transition from hyperbolic to elliptic type for sufficiently large third‐order dispersion, which provides a possible route for the TDSW to exhibit modulational instability.     

The homotopy analysis method for approximating the solution of the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation

In this paper, the homotopy analysis method for solving the nonlinear modified Korteweg-de Vries equation is implemented with approximate initial conditions. We discuss the case when the problem has solitons or breathers. Some numerical examples are presented.     

Modulational Instability and Variational Structure

We study the modulational instability of periodic traveling waves for a class of Hamiltonian systems in one spatial dimension. We examine how the Jordan block structure of the associated linearized operator bifurcates for small values of the Floquet exponent to derive a criterion governing instability to long wavelengths perturbations in terms of the kinetic and potential energies, the momentum, the mass of the underlying wave, and their derivatives. The dispersion operator of the equation is allowed to be nonlocal, for which Evans function techniques may not be applicable. We illustrate the results by discussing analytically and numerically equations of Korteweg‐de Vries type.     

The superposition of algebraic solitons for the modified Korteweg–de Vries equation

Many real nonlinear evolution equations exhibiting soliton properties display a special superposition principle, where an infinite array of equally spaced, identical solitons constitutes an exact periodic solution. This arrangement is studied for the modified Korteweg–de Vries equation with positive cubic nonlinearity, which possesses algebraic solitons with nonvanishing far field conditions. An infinite sum of equally spaced, identical algebraic pulses is evaluated in closed form, and leads to a complex valued solution of the nonlinear evolution equation.     

Polygons of differential equations for finding exact solutions

A method for finding exact solutions of nonlinear differential equations is presented. Our method is based on the application of polygons corresponding to nonlinear differential equations. It allows one to express exact solutions of the equation studied through solutions of another equation using properties of the basic equation itself. The ideas of power geometry are used and developed. Our approach has a pictorial interpretation, which is illustrative and effective. The method can be also applied for finding transformations between solutions of differential equations. To demonstrate the method application exact solutions of several equations are found. These equations are: the Korteveg–de Vries–Burgers equation, the generalized Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equation, the fourth-order nonlinear evolution equation, the fifth-order Korteveg–de Vries equation, the fifth-order modified Korteveg–de Vries equation and the sixth-order nonlinear evolution equation describing turbulent processes. Some new exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations are given.     

Nonautonomous soliton solutions of the modified Korteweg–de Vries–sine-Gordon equation

Multisoliton solutions of the modified Korteweg–de Vries–sine-Gordon (mKdV–SG) equation with time-dependent coefficients are considered. Cases describing changes in the shape of soliton solutions (kinks and breathers) observed in gradual transitions between the mKdV, SG, and mKdV–SG equations are numerically studied.     

Evolution of Nonlinear Sloshing in a Tank Near Half the Fundamental Resonance

This article describes the evolution of shallow water waves in a tank that is closed at one end and is periodically forced at half the fundamental frequency at the other end. The nonlinear response occurs at the same order as the linear response and is governed by a forced Korteweg–de Vries ( K dV ) equation. Unlike the corresponding problem for a gas (or the hydraulic limit), there may be nonperiodic (beating) solutions and multiple steady solutions for the same frequency. The addition of a component at the fundamental frequency to the piston input can be used to cancel the nonlinear effects and leave only the linear response in the steady state.     

Nonfocusing Instabilities in Coupled, Integrable Nonlinear Schrödinger pdes

nonfocusing instabilities that exist independently of the well-known modulational instability of the focusing NLS equation. The focusing versus defocusing behavior of scalar NLS fields is a well-known model for the corresponding behavior of pulse transmission in optical fibers in the anomalous (focusing) versus normal (defocusing) dispersion regime [19], [20]. For fibers with birefringence (induced by an asymmetry in the cross section), the scalar NLS fields for two orthogonal polarization modes couple nonlinearly [26]. Experiments by Rothenberg [32], [33] have demonstrated a new type of modulational instability in a birefringent normal dispersion fiber, and he proposes this cross-phase coupling instability as a mechanism for the generation of ultrafast, terahertz optical oscillations. In this paper the nonfocusing plane wave instability in an integrable coupled nonlinear Schr?dinger (CNLS) partial differential equation system is contrasted with the focusing instability from two perspectives: traditional linearized stability analysis and integrable methods based on periodic inverse spectral theory. The latter approach is a crucial first step toward a nonlinear , nonlocal understanding of this new optical instability analogous to that developed for the focusing modulational instability of the sine-Gordon equations by Ercolani, Forest, and McLaughlin [13], [14], [15], [17] and the scalar NLS equation by Tracy, Chen, and Lee [36], [37], Forest and Lee [18], and McLaughlin, Li, and Overman [23], [24]. Received February 9, 1999; accepted June 28, 1999     

Perturbation Theory for the Solitary Wave Solutions to a Sasa‐Satsuma Model Describing Nonlinear Internal Waves in a Continuously Stratified Fluid

The adiabatic evolution of perturbed solitary wave solutions to an extended Sasa‐Satsuma (or vector‐valued modified Korteweg–de Vries) model governing nonlinear internal gravity propagation in a continuously stratified fluid is considered. The transport equations describing the evolution of the solitary wave parameters are determined by a direct multiple‐scale asymptotic expansion and independently by phase‐averaged conservation relations for an arbitrary perturbation. As an example, the adiabatic evolution associated with a dissipative perturbation is explicitly determined. Unlike the case with the dissipatively perturbed modified Korteweg–de Vries equation, the adiabatic asymptotic expansion for the Sasa‐Satsuma model considered here is not exponentially nonuniform and no shelf region emerges in the lee‐side of the propagating solitary wave.     

Convective Linear Stability of Solitary Waves for Boussinesq Equations

Boussinesq was the first to explain the existence of Scott Russell's solitary wave mathematically. He employed a variety of asymptotically equivalent equations to describe water waves in the small-amplitude, long-wave regime. We study the linearized stability of solitary waves for three linearly well-posed Boussinesq models. These are problems for which well-developed Lyapunov methods of stability analysis appear to fail. However, we are able to analyze the eigenvalue problem for small-amplitude solitary waves, by comparison to the equation that Boussinesq himself used to describe the solitary wave, which is now called the Korteweg–de Vries equation. With respect to a weighted norm designed to diminish as perturbations convect away from the wave profile, we prove that nonzero eigenvalues are absent in a half-plane of the form R λ>− b for some b >0, for all three Boussinesq models. This result is used to prove the decay of solutions of the evolution equations linearized about the solitary wave, in two of the models. This "convective linear stability" property has played a central role in the proof of nonlinear asymptotic stability of solitary-wave-like solutions in other systems.     

Long Nonlinear Waves in Resonance with Topography

The evolution of periodic long surface waves over a periodic bottom topography resonant with the waves is studied. Coupled Korteweg–de Vries equations are derived and describe the evolution in terms of interaction between right- and left-traveling waves. The coupling arises from the cumulative effect of wave scattering. We discuss the various conserved quantities of the system and compute solutions for the initial value problem and for the time-periodic problem of fluid "sloshing" in a tank. Some three-dimensional extensions are discussed.     

Long-time asymptotics of the focusing Kundu–Eckhaus equation with nonzero boundary conditions

The long-time asymptotics of the focusing Kundu–Eckhaus equation with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity is investigated by the nonlinear steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou. Three asymptotic sectors in space–time plane are found: the plane wave sector I, plane wave sector II and an intermediate sector with a modulated one-phase elliptic wave. The asymptotic solutions of the three sectors are proposed by successively deforming the corresponding Riemann–Hilbert problems to solvable model problems. Moreover, a time-dependent g-function mechanism is introduced to remove the exponential growths of the jump matrices in the modulated one-phase elliptic wave sector. Finally, the modulational instability is studied to reveal the criterion for the existence of modulated elliptic waves in the central region.     

Fractional quasi AKNS‐technique for nonlinear space–time fractional evolution equations

This paper aims to formulate the fractional quasi‐inverse scattering method. Also, we give a positive answer to the following question: can the Ablowitz‐Kaup‐Newell‐Segur (AKNS) method be applied to the space–time fractional nonlinear differential equations? Besides, we derive the Bäcklund transformations for the fractional systems under study. Also, we construct the fractional quasi‐conservation laws for the considered fractional equations from the defined fractional quasi AKNS‐like system. The nonlinear fractional differential equations to be studied are the space–time fractional versions of the Kortweg‐de Vries equation, modified Kortweg‐de Vries equation, the sine‐Gordon equation, the sinh‐Gordon equation, the Liouville equation, the cosh‐Gordon equation, the short pulse equation, and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.     

The long‐wave limit for the water wave problem I. The case of zero surface tension

The Korteweg‐de Vries equation, Boussinesq equation, and many other equations can be formally derived as approximate equations for the two‐dimensional water wave problem in the limit of long waves. Here we consider the classical problem concerning the validity of these equations for the water wave problem in an infinitely long canal without surface tension. We prove that the solutions of the water wave problem in the long‐wave limit split up into two wave packets, one moving to the right and one to the left, where each of these wave packets evolves independently as a solution of a Korteweg‐de Vries equation. Our result allows us to describe the nonlinear interaction of solitary waves. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.