Superposition rules, Lie theorem, and partial differential equations (Q2477367): Difference between revisions

In some sense, the theorem on nonlinear superposition for solutions of nonautonomous ODEs has been a ``folk theorem'' in the literature, due to the absence of a rigorous proof. This is accomplished by the authors, by means of geometrical tools, more precisely, reformulating the superposition principle in terms of foliations subjected to some constraints. This foliation based approach also allows to settle definitively the uniqueness of the superposition function. This powerful geometrical reformulation is naturally generalized for the case of systems of first order partial differential equations. The paper is very well written and exhibits important examples to illustrate the procedure.