Asymptotic decomposition of nonlinear, dispersive wave equations with dissipation (Q5940219)

Provided \(\nu> 0\), solutions of the generalized regularized long wave-Burgers equation \[ u_t+ u_x+ P(u)_x- \nu u_{xx}- u_{xxt}= 0\tag{\(*\)} \] that begin with finite energy decay to zero as \(t\) becomes unboundedly large. Consideration is given here to the case where \(P\) vanishes at least cubically at the origin. In this case, solutions of \((*)\) may be decomposed exactly as the sum of a solution of the corresponding linear equation and a higher-order correction term. An explicit asymptotic form for the \(L_2\)-norm of the higher-order correction is presented here. The effect of the nonlinearity is felt only in the higher-order term. A similar decomposition is given for the generalized Korteweg-de Vries-Burgers equation \[ u_t+ u_x+ P(u)_x- \nu u_{xx}+ u_{xxx}= 0. \]