In this announcement we present a general and new approach to analyzing the asymptotics of oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problems. Such problems arise, in particular, in evaluating the long-time behavior of nonlinear wave equations solvable by the inverse scattering method. We will restrict ourselves here exclusively to the modified Korteweg de Vries (MKdV) equation,
$$y_t-6y^2y_x+y_{xxx}=0,\qquad -\infty<x<\infty,\ t\ge0, y(x,t=0)=y_0(x),$$
but it will be clear immediately to the reader with some experience in the field, that the method extends naturally and easily to the general class of wave equations solvable by the inverse scattering method, such as the KdV, nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS), and Boussinesq equations, etc., and also to ``integrable'' ordinary differential equations such as the Painlevé transcendents.
We formulate a $3\times3$ Riemann-Hilbert problem to solve the Cauchy problem for the Sasa-Satsuma equation on the line, which allows us to give a representation for the solution of Sasa-Satsuma equation. We then apply the method of nonlinear steepest descent to compute the long-time asymptotics of the Sasa-Satsuma equation.
We present a new and relatively elementary method for studying the solution of the initial-value problem for dispersive linear and integrable equations in the large-$t$ limit, based on a generalization of steepest descent techniques for Riemann-Hilbert problems to the setting of $\overline{\partial}$-problems. Expanding upon prior work of the first two authors, we develop the method in detail for the linear and defocusing nonlinear Schrödinger equations, and show how in the case of the latter it gives sharper asymptotics than previously known under essentially minimal regularity assumptions on…
We study an operator analogue of the classical problem of finding the rate of decay of an oscillatory integral on the real line. This particular problem arose in the analysis of oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problems associated with partial differential equations in the Ablowitz-Kaup-Newell-Segur hierarchy, but is interesting in its own right as a question in harmonic analysis and oscillatory integrals. As was the case in earlier work of the first author, the approach is general and purely real-variable. The resulting estimates we achieve are strongly uniform as a function of the phase and can s…
Under investigation in this work is the coupled Sasa-Satsuma equation, which can describe the propagations of two optical pulse envelopes in birefringent fibers. The Riemann-Hilbert problem for the equation is formulated on the basis of the corresponding $5\times5$ matrix spectral problem, which allows us to present a suitable representation for the solution of the equation. Then the Deift-Zhou steepest descent method is used to analyze the long time behavior of the coupled Sasa-Satsuma equation.
In this paper, we mainly focus on the Cauchy problem of an integrable nonlocal Hirota equation with initial value in weighted Sobolev space. Through the spectral analysis of Lax pairs, we successfully transform the Cauchy problem of the nonlocal Hirota equation into a solvable Riemann-Hilbert problem. Furthermore, in the absence of discrete spectrum, the long-time asymptotic behavior of the solution for the nonlocal Hirota equation is obtained through the Dbar steepest descent method. Different from the local Hirota equation, the leading order term on the continuous spectrum and residual error…
We study the asymptotic behavior of oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problems arising in the AKNS hierarchy of integrable nonlinear PDE's. Our method is based on the Deift-Zhou nonlinear steepest descent method in which the given Riemann-Hilbert problem localizes to small neighborhoods of stationary phase points. In their original work, Deift and Zhou only considered analytic phase functions. Subsequently Varzugin extended the Deift-Zhou method to a certain restricted class of non-analytic phase functions. In this paper, we extend Varzugin's method to a substantially more general class of non-analy…
We develop an inverse scattering transform formalism for the "good" Boussinesq equation on the line. Assuming that the solution exists, we show that it can be expressed in terms of the solution of a $3 \times 3$ matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem. The Riemann-Hilbert problem is formulated in terms of two reflection coefficients whose definitions involve only the initial data, and it has a form which makes it suitable for the evaluation of long-time asymptotics via Deift-Zhou steepest descent arguments.
The integrable focusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation admits soliton solutions whose associated spectral data consist of a single pair of conjugate poles of arbitrary order. We study families of such multiple-pole solitons generated by Darboux transformations as the pole order tends to infinity. We show that in an appropriate scaling, there are four regions in the space-time plane where solutions display qualitatively distinct behaviors: an exponential-decay region, an algebraic-decay region, a non-oscillatory region, and an oscillatory region. Using the nonlinear steepest-descent method for …
We consider the long-time properties of the an obstruction in the Riemann-Hilbert approach to one dimensional focusing Nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the semiclassical limit for a one parameter family of initial conditions. For certain values of the parameter a large number of solitons in the system interfere with the $g$-function mechanism in the steepest descent to oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problems. The obstruction prevents the Riemann-Hilbert analysis in a region in $(x,t)$ plane. We obtain the long time asymptotics of the boundary of the region (obstruction curve). As $t\to\infty$ th…
Based on the nonlinear steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou for oscillatory Riemann--Hilbert problems and the Dbar approach, the long-time asymptotic behavior of solutions to the fifth-order modified Korteweg-de Vries equation on the line is studied in the case of initial conditions that belong to some weighted Sobolev spaces. Using techniques in Fourier analysis and the idea of $I$-method, we give its global well-posedness in lower regularity Sobolev spaces, and then obtain the asymptotic behavior in these spaces with weights.
We consider Smoluchowski's coagulation equation with kernels of homogeneity one of the form $K_{\varepsilon }(ξ,η) =\big( ξ^{1-\varepsilon }+η^{1-\varepsilon }\big)\big ( ξη\big) ^{\frac{\varepsilon }{2}}$. Heuristically, in suitable exponential variables, one can argue that in this case the long-time behaviour of solutions is similar to the inviscid Burgers equation and that for Riemann data solutions converge to a traveling wave for large times. Numerical simulations in \cite{HNV16} indeed support this conjecture, but also reveal that the traveling waves are oscillatory and the oscillations …
We consider the initial-value problem for the Sasa-Satsuma equation on the line with decaying initial data. Using a Riemann-Hilbert formulation and steepest descent arguments, we compute the long-time asymptotics of the solution in the sector $|x| \leq M t^{1/3}$, $M$ constant. It turns out that the asymptotics can be expressed in terms of the solution of a modified Painlevé II equation. Whereas the standard Painlevé II equation is related to a $2 \times 2$ matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem, this modified Painlevé II equation is related to a $3 \times 3$ matrix Riemann--Hilbert problem.
In this work, the Riemann-Hilbert problem for the 3-component Manakov system is formulated on the basis of the corresponding $4\times 4$ matrix spectral problem. Furthermore, by applying the nonlinear steepest descent techniques to an associated $4\times 4$ matrix valued Riemann-Hilbert problem, we can find leading-order asymptotics for the Cauchy problem of the 3-component Manakov system.
In this paper, we obtain the long-time asymptotics of complex mKdV equation via Defit-Zhou method (Non-linear steepest descent method). The Cauchy problem of complex mKdV equation is transformed into the corresponding Riemann-Hilbert problem on the basis of the Lax pair and the scattering matrix. After that Riemann-Hilbert problems are converted through a decomposition of the matrix-valued spectral function and factorizations of the jump matrix for Riemann-Hilbert problem. Finally, by solving the last model problem, the long-time asymptotics of complex mKdV equation are derived.
Following Deift-Zhou's nonlinear steepest descent method, the long-time asymptotic behavior for the Cauchy problem of the 5th order modified Korteweg-de Vries equation is analyzed. Based on the inverse scattering transform, the 5th order MKdV is transformed to a 2 by 2 oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problem, then by manipulating the Cauchy operator and reducing the degree of the phase function, the long-time asymptotics of the solution is given in terms of solutions of the parabolic cylinder equation.
In this work, we consider the long-time asymptotics for the Cauchy problem of a fourth-order dispersive nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity. Firstly, in order to construct the basic Riemann-Hilbert problem associated with nonzero boundary conditions, we analysis direct scattering problem. Then we deform the corresponding matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem to explicitly solving models via using the nonlinear steepest descent method and employing the $g$-function mechanism to eliminate the exponential growths of the jump matrices. Finally, we obtain the asympt…
We derive asymptotic formulas for the solution of the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation on the half-line under the assumption that the initial and boundary values lie in the Schwartz class. The formulas clearly show the effect of the boundary on the solution. The approach is based on a nonlinear steepest descent analysis of an associated Riemann-Hilbert problem.
We obtain an asymptotic expansion for the solution of the Cauchy problem for the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation in the small dispersion limit near the point of gradient catastrophe (x_c,t_c) for the solution of the dispersionless equation. The sub-leading term in this expansion is described by the smooth solution of a fourth order ODE, which is a higher order analogue to the Painleve I equation. This is in accordance with a conjecture of Dubrovin, suggesting that this is a universal phenomenon for any Hamiltonian perturbation of a hyperbolic equation. Using the Deift/Zhou steepest descent me…
The initial-boundary value problem for the Kundu--Eckhaus equation on the half-line is considered in this paper by using the Fokas method. We will show that the solution $u(x,t)$ can be expressed in terms of the solution of a matrix Riemann--Hilbert problem formulated in the complex $k$-plane. Furthermore, based on a nonlinear steepest descent analysis of the associated Riemann--Hilbert problem, we can give the precise asymptotic formulas for the solution of the Kundu--Eckhaus equation on the half-line.
In the small dispersion limit, solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries equation develop an interval of fast oscillations after a certain time. We obtain a universal asymptotic expansion for the Korteweg-de Vries solution near the leading edge of the oscillatory zone up to second order corrections. This expansion involves the Hastings-McLeod solution of the Painlevé II equation. We prove our results using the Riemann-Hilbert approach.
In this paper, we are going to investigate Cauchy problem for nonlocal nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the initial potential $q_0(x)$ in weighted sobolev space $H^{1,1}(\mathbb{R})$, \begin{align*} iq_t(x,t)&+q_{xx}(x,t)+2σq^2(x,t)\bar q(-x,t)=0,\quadσ=\pm1,\\ q(x,0)&=q_0(x). \end{align*} We show that the solution can be represented by the solution of a Riemann-Hilbert problem (RH problem), and assuming no discrete spectrum, we majorly apply $\bar\partial$-steepest cescent descent method on analyzing the long-time asymptotic behavior of it.
In this work, we investigate the long-time asymptotic behavior of the Wadati-Konno-Ichikawa equation with initial data belonging to Schwartz space at infinity by using the nonlinear steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou for the oscillatory Riemann-Hilbert problem. Based on the initial value condition, the original Riemann-Hilbert problem is constructed to express the solution of the Wadati-Konno-Ichikawa equation. Through a series of deformations, the original RH problem is transformed into a model RH problem, from which the long-time asymptotic solution of the equation is obtained explici…
Painlevé \uppercase\expandafter{\romannumeral34\relax} and collisionless shock in the defocusing NLS equation with step-like initial data in the transition regions
The long-time asymptotic behavior of solutions to the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation on the line with symmetric, nonzero boundary conditions at infinity is studied in the case of initial conditions that allow for the presence of discrete spectrum. The results of the analysis provide the first rigorous characterization of the nonlinear interactions between solitons and the coherent oscillating structures produced by localized perturbations in a modulationally unstable medium. The study makes crucial use of the inverse scattering transform for the focusing NLS equation with nonzer…
