On Whitham's conjecture of a highest cusped wave for a nonlocal dispersive equation

  • Mats Ehrnström

    Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
  • Erik Wahlén

    Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, PO Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
On Whitham's conjecture of a highest cusped wave for a nonlocal dispersive equation cover

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Abstract

We consider the Whitham equation , where L is the nonlocal Fourier multiplier operator given by the symbol . G. B. Whitham conjectured that for this equation there would be a highest, cusped, travelling-wave solution. We find this wave as a limiting case at the end of the main bifurcation curve of P-periodic solutions, and give several qualitative properties of it, including its optimal -regularity. An essential part of the proof consists in an analysis of the integral kernel corresponding to the symbol , and a following study of the highest wave. In particular, we show that the integral kernel corresponding to the symbol is completely monotone, and provide an explicit representation formula for it. Our methods may be generalised.

Cite this article

Mats Ehrnström, Erik Wahlén, On Whitham's conjecture of a highest cusped wave for a nonlocal dispersive equation. Ann. Inst. H. Poincaré Anal. Non Linéaire 36 (2019), no. 6, pp. 1603–1637

DOI 10.1016/J.ANIHPC.2019.02.006