Abstract This paper aims to obtain exact solutions of solitary waves for the conformable fractional Sharma-Tasso-Olver (STO) equation which plays an important role in nuclear physics to describe the physical occurrences such as the fission and fusion processes. Solitary waves operate central parts in different areas of study such as electromagnetism, atomic quantum theory, as well as special relativity. By means of sub-ode approach with the aid of the modified fractional Riccati-Bernoulli equation, the exact forms of generalized solitary solution of the fractional (STO) equation are found and specified in hyperbolic, trigonometric, and rational functions. This makes the visualization of the fractional effects and the dynamic behaviors of these solutions in 3D and 2D help in establishing practicality for application of the results. The novel analytical results benefit general engineering and mathematical physics in demonstrating that the proposed employment of the given technique allows solving nonlinear problem analytically. These findings are significant for the progress of wave proceedings in the number of applications.