Model Reduction of a Higher-Order KdV Equation for Shallow Water Waves

Abstract

We present novel results on a non-integrable generalized KdV equation proposed by Fokas [A.S. Fokas, Physica D87, 145 (1995)], aiming to describe unidirectional solitary water waves with greater accuracy than the standard KdV equation. The profile of the solitary wave solutions is determined via a reduction of the partial differential equation (PDE) to a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Subsequently, we study the stability of the wave using this profile as initial condition for the PDE. In the case of the standard KdV equation it is well-known that the solitary wave solutions are always stable, irrespective of their height. However, in the case of our higher-order KdV equation we find that the stability of the solutions breaks down beyond a certain critical height, just like solitary waves in real water experiments.