Variational derivation of improved KP-type of equations

The Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation describes nonlinear dispersive waves which travel mainly in one direction, generalizing the Korteweg-de Vries equation for purely uni-directional waves. In this Letter we derive an improved KP-equation that has exact dispersion in the main propagation direction and that is accurate in second order of the wave height. Moreover, different from the KP-equation, this new equation is also valid for waves on deep water. These properties are inherited from the AB-equation (E. van Groesen, Andonowati, 2007 [1]) which is the unidirectional improvement of the KdV equation. The derivation of the equation uses the variational formulation of surface water waves, and inherits the basic Hamiltonian structure.