No label defined (Q4518522)

The author obtains a criterion for a reduction of the evolution equation \[ u_t=F(t,x,u,u_1,\ldots,u_n), \quad u_k=\partial^ku/\partial x^k, \tag{1} \] to a system of ODEs. This criterion is based on the notion of higher conditional symmetry. The PDE (1) is said to be conditionally invariant under the Lie-Bäcklund vector field \(Q=\sum_{k=0}^{\infty }(D_x^k\eta){\partial \over\partial u_k}\), where \(D_x\) is the total differentiation operator with respect to \(x\) and \(\eta =\eta(t,x,u_1,\ldots,u_N)\), if \(Q(u_t-F)|{M\cap L_x}=0\). Here, \(M\) and \(L_x\) are the sets of all differential consequences of equations (1) and \[ \eta(t,x,u,u_1,\ldots,u_N)=0,\tag{2} \] respectively. If (1) has such a property then the ansatz reducing this equation to a system \(\dot \varphi_i=F_i(t,\varphi_1,\ldots,\varphi_N)\) has the form \(u=U(t,x,\varphi_1,\ldots,\varphi_N)\) where \(U(t,x,\varphi_1(t),\ldots,\varphi_N(t))\) is the general integral to equation (2) when it is considered as an \(N\)th-order ODE with respect to variable \(x\). The inverse assertion is also true. The same approach is successfully applied to obtain a reduction theorem for the initial value problem which consists in equation (1) and initial conditions of the form \((\alpha(x)u_1+\beta(x)u){}_{t=0}=\gamma(x)\). For the entire collection see [Zbl 0937.00045].