Differential constraints, recursion operators, and logical integrability (Q1380919)

The paper is devoted to the search for integrable PDEs of the form \[ q_t=P(q,q_x,q_{xx},\dots)\tag{1} \] of order \(N\). The objective is to formulate a definition of the ``logical integrability'', which is realized as the existence of a local linear differential constraint of the same order \(N\) (the constraint is a relation involving only the partial derivatives with respect to \(x\); the coefficient functions of the constraint are combinations of \(q(x)\) and its derivatives), compatible with a linearized version of (1). If a compatible differential constraint has been found for a given equation, a so-called recursion operator can be explicitly constructed for it, and, finally, the nonlinear PDE (1) can be shown to be integrable. Inversely, one can start from the linearized PDE, find the differential constraint compatible with it, and then restore a fully nonlinear PDE that has a recursion operator and is integrable. This is a way to classify nonlinear integrable PDEs of different orders \(N\). In the paper, this procedure is implemented for \(N=2\) and \(N=3\), leading to a set of previously known integrable PDEs.