Soliton structure versus singularity analysis: Third-order completely intergrable nonlinear differential equations in 1 + 1-dimensions

Bäcklund transformations between all known completely integrable third-order differential equations in (1 + 1)-dimensions are established and the corresponding transformations formulas for their hereditary operators and Hamiltonian formulations are exhibited. Some of these Bäcklund transformations are not injective; therefore additional non-commutative symmetry groups are found for some equations. These non-commutative symmetry groups are classified as having a semisimple part isomorphic to the affine algebra A(1)1. New completely integrable third-order integro-differential equations, some depending explicitly on x, are given. These new equations give rise to nonin equation. Connections between the singularity equations (from the Painlevé analysis) and the nonlinear equations for interacting solitons are established. A common approach to singularity analysis and soliton structure is introduced. The Painlevé analysis is modified in such a sense that it carries over directly and without difficulty to the time evolution of singularity manifolds of equations like the sine-Gordon and nonlinear Schrödinger equation. A method to recover the Painlevé series from its constant level term is exhibit. The soliton-singularity transform is recognized to be connected to the Möbius group. This gives rise to a Darboux-like result for the spectral properties of the recursion operator. These connections are used in order to explain why poles of soliton equations move like trajectories of interacting solitons. Furthermore it is explicitly computed how solitons of singularity equations behave under the effect of this soliton-singularity transform. This then leads to the result that only for scaling degrees α = -1 and α = -2 the usual Painlevé analysis can be carried out. A new invariance principle, connected to kernels of differential operators is discovered. This new invariance, for example, connects the explicit solutions of the Liouville equation with the Miura transform. Simple methods are exhibited which allow to compute out of N-soliton solutions of the KdV (Bargman potentials) explicit solutions of equations like the Harry Dym equation. Certain solutions are plotted. © 1989.