1. Introduction
Over the years, the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation,
has been well studied analytically and numerically [
1,
2]. There are a number of physical problems that can be represented by the KdV equation [
3]. In the continuum limit, it is the governing equation of the string in the Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou problem. It also describes the movement of long waves in shallow water and internal waves in a density-stratified ocean. Additionally, acoustic waves on a crystal lattice and ion acoustic waves in a plasma can be described by the KdV equation too [
4]. Further, it is known to be connected to the Huygens’ principle [
5]. The earlier studies employed the inverse scattering transform method to solve the KdV equation [
6]. It has been shown that the KdV equation has solitary wave solutions (single and
n-solitary waves, where
n is an integer) with remarkable conservation properties. The single solitary wave solution (also, known as soliton) of the KdV Equation (
1) is of the following form:
where the wave speed
and
is the spatial location of the soliton at time
. Recently, while searching (with the use of genetic programming) for other equations that could have a solution of the
form as in (
2), some authors (see [
7] and references therein) stumbled upon a scale-invariant analogue of the KdV equation given by
Due to its scale-invariant property, the authors in [
7] named it the SIdV equation. It is easy to check that this equation shares the same
solution as the KdV equation. However, the SIdV equation does not possess an infinite number of conservation properties like the KdV equation, and thus, as shown numerically in [
7], its solutions after collision do not preserve their shapes or energy. However, one can show that it has one conservation property, namely,
In looking for other analytical solutions other than the
form, some authors [
8,
9] have studied a variant of the SIdV equation of the form
An analytical solution of kink type was obtained in [
8] by solving an associated Legendre equation. Instead, in [
9], by employing the Darboux transformation along with one, two, and three-soliton solutions of the KdV equation, one, two, and three-kink solutions were found. It should be noted that Darboux transformation was also used in finding kink and bell-type solutions [
10] of the negative order KdV equation of the form
In the literature, there have been studies of a generalized Korteweg–de Vries equation of the form
Such studies have considered various choices for
such as
(for some positive integer
k),
, and
[
11].
In this paper, we consider the generalized scale-invariant analogue of the Korteweg–de Vries equation proposed in [
7] and given by
Here,
and
are nonzero real constants. Equation (
5) can be thought of as a KdV-like equation with an advecting velocity given by the expression
. Note that when
and
, (
5) reduces to the KdV Equation (
1). When
and
, it reduces to the SIdV Equation (
3). We refer to (
5) as the generalized SIdV equation. One can think of the SIdV equation as a natural extension of the KdV equation. At this juncture it should be pointed out that a recent work [
12] has shown that there are strong links between the Sylvester equation and integrable systems such as the KdV and SIdV equations. Since the Sylvester equation is widely used in control theory, image restoration, and signal processing [
13], one should not be surprised to find applications of the SIdV equation in these areas too. Equation (
5) was recently studied in [
14] using dynamical system theory, and it was shown that traveling waves of bell type and valley type exist. A study of the existence of traveling waves did consider the constant of integration associated with the general solution of (
5). In fact, the bell-type and valley-type solutions were shown to exist for varying conditions of the constant of integration. However, hitherto, no exact solutions, in closed forms, have been reported for choices of
and
that are other than
. Our goal was to look for exact traveling wave solutions of the generalized SIdV equation in closed forms even when
and
are not equal to
.
There are many known powerful methods that can be used to find the exact solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations, such as Hirota’s bilinear method [
2], the inverse scattering transform method [
1], the
-expansion method [
15,
16], the Riccati–Bernoulli sub-ODE method [
17,
18], the homogeneous balance method [
19], and the generalized Riccati equation mapping method [
20,
21]. Other recent meritorious work on finding exact solutions include [
22,
23,
24,
25,
26,
27,
28]. Further, readers interested in the solutions of fractional differential equations or fractional forms of the KdV equation should consult [
29,
30,
31,
32,
33]. The authors in [
34] suggested a simple and useful method, known as the auxiliary equation method, to obtain some exact traveling wave solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations by presenting an auxiliary first-order and fourth-degree nonlinear ordinary differential equation:
where
,
and
are real numbers, and the prime denotes
. In this method, the traveling wave solutions of the nonlinear partial differential equation depend on the selection of the solution
of the auxiliary ordinary differential equation. We applied the auxiliary equation method to the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) in our quest to find exact traveling wave solutions in closed forms.
This paper is structured as follows: The auxiliary equation method is briefly described in
Section 2 by showing the main steps and presenting the solutions
of the auxiliary ordinary differential Equation (
6). In
Section 3, the auxiliary equation method is applied to the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) in order to construct exact bounded and singular traveling wave solutions that are kink and bell types, periodic waves, exponential waves, and peakon waves. In addition, some of the solutions obtained for the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) are presented graphically in 2D and 3D plots.
Section 4 presents the conclusions.
3. Application of the Auxiliary Equation Method
In this section, we apply the auxiliary equation method to the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) in order to construct exact traveling wave solutions.
We assume that the traveling wave transform of Equation (
5) is in the form
where
and
is the propagating wave speed, and change Equation (
5) into the ordinary differential equation
By integrating Equation (
12) once and setting the constant of integration as
g, we obtain
By considering the homogeneous balance between
and
in Equation (
13)
, we then assume that the solution of Equation (
13) has the form
where
satisfies the auxiliary Equation (
6), and
and
are real numbers to be determined later.
By substituting Equations (
6) and (
14) into Equation (
13) and collecting coefficients of polynomials of
, and then setting each coefficient to zero, a system of algebraic equations is obtained for
, and
. By solving the resulting system of algebraic equations using
Maple, we get a variety of interesting wave solutions as described below. Every solution is constructed for parameter values, satisfying a certain condition, making use of a suitable function from the functions that are given in
Section 2 (
). However, at every instance, more solutions, in addition to the solutions that we construct, can be found using the functions
, which we did not make use of in constructing the solutions. Those details are omitted for brevity.
3.1. Traveling Wave Solutions for the Case
We start by substituting the first type of solutions, namely,
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
are of the opposite signs and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
are of the same sign:
which is a singular wave solution, and
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, and a singular wave solution when
.
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
, and
), an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
, and
), and a singular wave solution when
and
are of the same sign.
For
we have
which is a periodic singular wave solution.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
are of the opposite signs and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
are of the same sign,
which is a singular wave solution, and
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, and a singular wave solution when
.
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
, and
), an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
, and
), and a singular wave solution when
and
are of the same sign.
For
we have
which is a periodic singular wave solution.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
,
which is a singular wave solution when
, and
which is a complex-valued solitary wave solution when
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
.
For
and
we have
which is a singular wave solution.
For
and
we have
which is a periodic singular wave solution.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
.
3.2. Traveling Wave Solutions for the Case
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
and
); an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
(or when
and
); and a singular wave solution when
and
and
are of the opposite signs, and when
and
and
are of the same sign.
For
we have
which is a periodic wave solution.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
or when
and
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
or when
and
,
which is a singular wave solution when
and
or when
and
, and
which is a complex-valued solitary wave solution when
and
or when
and
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped (or an anti-bell-shaped) solitary wave solution when
and a singular wave solution when
.
For
and
we have
which is a kink-shaped (or an anti-kink-shaped) solitary wave solution,
which is a singular wave solution, and
which is a complex-valued solitary wave solution.
For
and
we have
which is a singular wave solution.
For
and
we have
which is a periodic solitary wave solution when
or a periodic singular wave solution when
. On the other hand, we can get a peakon solution for the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) from Equation (
39) that is given by
for when
where the peak is located at the point
and for when
where the trough is located at the point
, where
, and
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped (or an anti-bell-shaped) solitary wave solution when
and a singular wave solution when
.
For
and
we have
which is a kink-shaped (or an anti-kink-shaped) solitary wave solution.
For
and
we have
which is a periodic solitary wave solution when
or a periodic singular wave solution when
.
3.3. Traveling Wave Solutions for the Case
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
and
(and therefore
), we have
which is a kink-shaped (or an anti-kink-shaped) solitary wave solution with boundary values
at left and right infinities.
For
and
(and therefore
), we have
which is a kink-shaped (or an anti-kink-shaped) solitary wave solution with boundary values 0 and
at left and right infinities or a kink-shaped (or an anti-kink-shaped) solitary wave solution with boundary values
and 0 at left and right infinities.
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped (or an anti-bell-shaped) solitary wave solution.
3.4. Traveling Wave Solutions for the Case
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
,
which is a singular wave solution, and
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, and a singular wave solution when
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the following exponential traveling wave solution:
where
. On the other hand, we can get a peakon solution for the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) from Equation (
54) that is given by
for
and
where the peak is located at the point
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the following exponential traveling wave solution:
where
. On the other hand, we can get a peakon solution for the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) from Equation (
54) that is given by
for
and
where the peak is located at the point
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and
, and a singular wave solution when
.
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
.
3.5. Traveling Wave Solutions for the Case
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solutions of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
. On the other hand, it is important to mention that the bell-shaped solitary wave Equation (
60) when
, and
(and therefore
) becomes
which is a solution of the KdV Equation (
1), and if
then we get the soliton solution Equation (
2) of the KdV Equation (
1).
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solution of (
5) as follows:
For
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
.
By substituting
and noting that
with the solutions of Equation (
6) into Equation (
14), we obtain the exact traveling wave solution of (
5) as follows:
For
and
we have
which is a bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
and an anti-bell-shaped solitary wave solution when
.
In order to get a better visual understanding of the solutions that we obtained, some of the solutions for the generalized SIdV Equation (
5) are presented graphically in 2D and 3D plots in
Figure 1,
Figure 2,
Figure 3 and
Figure 4.
Figure 1 shows a rich array of bounded solutions from a solitary pulse (
) to a kink (
) and to a periodic wave (
) for values of
other than either 1 or negative 1.
In
Figure 2, one can see a singular solitary wave and a singular periodic wave for the
-value of 2. If the singular solitary pulse is compared to the bounded solitary wave in
Figure 1 for
, the only difference is in the choice of
. The singular pulse is obtained with a positive
, whereas the bounded solitary pulse is found with a negative
. Similarly, if one compares parameter values for the singular solitary pulse with the bounded solitary wave in Equation
23) when
, it can be observed that the singular pulse is obtained with a positive
, whereas the bounded solitary pulse is found with a negative
.
Figure 3 presents other bounded solitary pulse solutions (as opposed to the KdV soliton of the
form) of the forms of
and
for
values of either 1 or negative 1.
Figure 4 shows the peaked solutions (peakons) that we are able to find for two different
values. Note that a peakon has a discontinuous first derivative at its peak.