On optimal exponential decay properties of solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries equation (Q1785919)

The authors consider the Korteweg-de Vries equation with an initial condition of Cauchy's type. The main concern of this paper is the study of a decay property of exponential type of solutions of the Cauchy problem in the positive semiaxis \(x\). More precisely, the authors study the preservation of an exponential decay of order \(3/2\) on the right of the \(x\)-axis as time evolves. To this aim, for a solution of the equation which decays at \(t=0\) the authors find an optimal function such that the solution, corresponding to this function, decays at \(t>0\). The properties of the decay preservation are closely related to the aspect of unique continuation. That is, the determination of local character conditions on the space of variables \(x\), \(t\), that force the solution of the problem (or the difference of two solutions) to be null. The fundamental solution is given by an improper integral defined with the help of the Airy function, which, in this context, is a bounded function with specific asymptotic behavior. It should be emphasized that the authors take advantage of the quadratic character of the integral part of the Duhamel formula to give a detailed pointwise estimation of the solution of the Cauchy problem as a perturbation of the solution of the linear problem, provided that the initial datum has enough regularity to guarantee global, or at least local, well-posedness. In proof of main result, the treatment of the nonlinear part is based upon a result of \textit{T. Kato} [Adv. Math., Suppl. Stud. 8, 93--128 (1983; Zbl 0549.34001)] regarding the preservation of the exponential decay with a specific exponent, which is still valid for the Korteweg-de Vries equation equation.