Advances in Pure Mathematics
Vol.05 No.03(2015), Article ID:54590,5 pages
10.4236/apm.2015.53014
Variable Separation and Exact Solutions for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation
Lili Song1, Yadong Shang2
1School of Science, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China
2School of Mathematics and Information Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Email: songlili29@163.com, gzydshang@126.com
Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/



Received 10 February 2015; accepted 6 March 2015; published 12 March 2015
ABSTRACT
In the paper, we will discuss the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation which is used to model shallow- water waves with weakly non-linear restoring forces and is also used to model waves in ferromagnetic media by employing the method of variable separation. Abundant exact solutions including global smooth solutions and local blow up solutions are obtained. These solutions would contribute to studying the behavior and blow up properties of the solution of the Kadomtsev-Pet- viashvili Equation.
Keywords:
Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Equation, Method of Variable Separation, Global Smooth Solution, Local Blow up Solution

1. Introduction
The Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equation [1] is
(1)
where
is a real-valued function of two spatial variable x and y, one time variable t, and a constant scalar
. When
, Equation (1) reduces to the KdV equation. When
, the equation is known as the KP-I equation which is a good model when surface tension is strong and dominates in very shallow water. When
, the equation is called the KP-II equation which is a good model when surface tension is weak or absent.
This means that the two KP equations have different physical structures and different properties [2] .
It is well known that searching for exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equation arising in mathematical physics plays an important role in nonlinear science fields, since they can provide much physical information and more insight into the physical aspects of the problem and thus lead to further applications [3] . Many powerful methods to seek exact solutions were proposed, for example, the tanh-coth method, the Exp-function method, the Jacobian function method, the Hirotas bilinear form method, the two-soliton method, extended three-wave method, the homoclinic test technique, and so on. But for global smooth solution and local blow up solution, there are quite a few results. Only few of paper studied this type of solution for Landau-Lifishitz equation and Ginzburg-Landau equation and a few equations [4] [5] .
This paper will study global smooth solution and local blow up solution of the KP equation by means of the method of variable separation [6] -[10] , and these solutions conduce to qualitative or numerical analysis for the KP equation.
2. Global Smooth Solutions for the KP Equation
We consider the KP-I equation
(2)
Setting
in Equation (2) gives
(3)
Now we suppose the additive separable solution of Equation (3) as
(4)
where
and
are smooth functions to be determined later.
Substituting Equation (4) into Equation (3), we discover that
(5)
by simple transposition, we get
(6)
In order to obtain nontrivial solution of separation of variables, we demand that
and
are not all constant. The left side of Equation (6) only depends on variable y, and this has nothing to do with variable z. The right side of Equation (6) is two order linear ordinary differential equation about variable z, and the coefficient is a function of variable y. If the single variable function 



Case 1:
In this case, Equation (6) is reduced to

by solving Equation (7), We can be easy to get

So, the global smooth solution of Equation (2) is

where C1, C2 and C3 are arbitrary constants.
Case 2:
In this case, Equation (6) is transformed into

The left side of the Equation (10) is the function about variable z, and the right side is a function about variable y, so 


where C1, C2 and C3 are undetermined constants.
Substituting Equation (11) into

In the meantime, Equation (10) is transformed into two order homogeneous linear differential equation with constant coefficients as follows

by solving Equation (13), We obtain

where C4 and C5 are arbitrary constants.
So, in this case, the global smooth solution of Equation (2) is

where C4 and C5 are arbitrary constants.
Case 3:
In this case, It is assumed that


by assumption, we get

where C1, C2 and C3 are undetermined constants.
Substituting Equation (17) into

We obtain two group of solutions by solving Equation (18) as follows
1)
2)
Accordingly, the equation 


Solving Equation (19), we have
Solving Equation (20), we have
So, we obtain two group of global smooth solutions of Equation (2) as follows:

where C3, C4 and C5 are arbitrary constants, and

Case 4:
In this case, Equation (6) is transformed into

Solving

where C1, and C2 are undetermined constants.
Substituting Equation (24) into the equation 


Solving the equation 

where C3 and C4 are arbitrary constants.
So, we obtain the global smooth solutions of Equation (2) as follows:

where C2, C3 and C4 are arbitrary constants, and
3. Local Blow up Solutions for the KP Equation
We look for separable solution of the multiplicative form of Equation (3)

where 

Plugging the form (27) into the nonlinear diffusion Equation (3), we obtain

Then 



where 

Solving Equation (30), we will discuss both cases as follows:
Case 1:
when


Substituting Equation (31) into Equation (32), we have

Solving Equation (33), the solution 
So, in this case, the Equation (2) possesses local blow up solution as follows

where C1 and C3 are arbitrary constants with
Case 2:
when


Substituting Equation (31) into Equation (35), we have
Solving Equation (36), the solution 
In this case, we can not get the blow up solution of Equation (2).
4. Conclusion
It is well known that the method of variable separation is one of the most universal and efficient means for studying linear partial differential equations. Several methods of variable separation for nonlinear partial differential have been suggested until recently. This paper applies the method of variable separation to obtain global smooth solutions and local blow up solutions of the KP equation. These solutions can be used to qualitative or numerical analysis for properties of the KP equation. In the future, we will try to seek for the generalized variable separation solutions by the form of solution 

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