Undular bores and the initial-boundary value problem for the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation

Abstract

Two types of analytical undular bore solutions, of the initial value problem for the modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV), are found. The first, an undular bore composed of cnoidal waves, is qualitatively similar to the bore found for the KdV equation, with solitons occurring at the leading edge and small amplitude linear waves occurring at the trailing edge. The second, a newly identified type of undular bore, consists of finite amplitude sinusiodal waves, which have a rational form. At the leading edge is the mKdV algebraic soliton, while, again, small amplitude linear waves occur at the trailing edge. The initial-boundary value (IBV) problem for the mKdV equation is also examined. The soluti..