Classical and nonclassical symmetries for the Helmholtz equation (Q1310889)

In this note, the problem of group invariant solutions of the two- dimensional Helmholtz equation (1) \(u_{tt} + u_{xx} + \omega^ 2 u = 0\) is revisited. The authors compare the well-known ``classical method'' of infinitesimal generators of the symmetries of (1) with the ``nonclassical'' group analysis (studied by Bluman and Cole) which obtains the symmetries of equation (1) simultaneously with the ``invariant surface equation'' \(T(t,x,u)u_ t + X(t,x,u)u_ x = U(t,x,u)\). It is shown that for equation (1), the nonclassical method yields more invariant surfaces than the classical one.