Solitons and Nonlinear Wave Equations

Abstract

A discussion of the theory and applications of classical solitons is presented with a brief treatment of quantum mechanical effects which occur in particle physics and quantum field theory. The subjects addressed include: solitary waves and solitons, scattering transforms, the Schroedinger equation and the Korteweg-de Vries equation, and the inverse method for the isospectral Schroedinger equation and the general solution of the solvable nonlinear equations. Also considered are: isolation of the Korteweg-de Vries equation in some physical examples, the Zakharov-Shabat/AKNS inverse method, kinks and the sine-Gordon equation, the nonlinear Schroedinger equation and wave resonance interactions, amplitude equations in unstable systems, and numerical studies of solitons. 45 references.