Linear dispersive equations of Airy type (Q921269)

We discuss properties of solutions of the equation \(\partial_ tu=a(x,t)\partial^ 3_ xu\), a linear version of the KdV equation. The dispersive nature of the equation lead to many interesting properties of the solutions. If the coefficient of dispersion a(x,t) is bounded away from zero, then \(L^ 2({\mathbb{R}})\) initial data results in \(C^{\infty}({\mathbb{R}})\) solutions for \(t\neq 0\). A proof of this, and a heuristic argument involving the group velocity is presented. When the coefficient a(x,t) vanishes for some \(x\in {\mathbb{R}}\), more complicated phenomena can occur, including examples in which there is analytic smoothing, and others which exhibit blow up in finite time.