A variational approach to surface solitary waves (Q1063472)

This paper makes rigorous use of a variational procedure to obtain periodic and solitary surface waves in a fluid with a non-diffusive variable density which may be discontinuous. The principle used is Lagrangian in character and reduces to a constrained variational problem. In addition to obtaining a single crested wave moving in a fluid which is at rest far from the crest, periodic solutions are also found in the horizontal direction which decay exponentially from crest to trough.