Asymptotic stability for KdV solitons in weighted spaces via iteration (Q491463)

It is well-known that soliton solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries equation: \[ u_t+u_{xxx}+\partial_x(u^2)=0, \] are asymptotically stable in exponentially weighted spaces, see \textit{R. L. Pego} and \textit{M. I. Weinstein} [Commun. Math. Phys. 164, No. 2, 305--349 (1994; Zbl 0805.35117)]. The aim of this paper is to reconsider the result of Pego and Weinstein. The authors establish local well-posedness for the exponentially weighted soliton perturbation in a space \(X^{1,1/2,1}\) which embeds into the Bourgain space \(X^1_b\), partially following the local well-posedness work of \textit{L. Molinet} and \textit{F. Ribaud} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 50, No. 4, 1745--1776 (2001; Zbl 1101.35370)] on dispersive dissipative equations; see also [Int. Math. Res. Not. 2002, No. 37, 1979--2005 (2002; Zbl 1031.35126)], \textit{Z. Guo} and \textit{B. Wang} [J. Differ. Equations 246, No. 10, 3864--3901 (2009; Zbl 1170.35084)]. They then run an iteration scheme to establish global control of the perturbation in \(H^1\) and the exponentially weighted space \(H^1_a\), concluding that the soliton is exponentially asymptotically stable in \(H^1_a\). The purpose of this work is to modernize the techniques used in Pego-Weinstein so that the result can be used in concert with other modern techniques. In particular, in a forthcoming work [``Asymptotic stability for KdV solitons in weighted'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1410.6873}] the authors will combine this argument with the I-method to obtain asymptotic stability of solitons in the space \(H^s_a\).