Asymptotic analysis of solitons and double layers at the acoustic speed

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the asymptotic behaviour of solitons and double layers. By using the Sagdeev pseudopotential formalism, a Taylor series expansion is used to derive the asymptotic behaviour. For solitons and supersolitons that propagate faster than the acoustic speed, an exponential decay rate is derived. In contrast, for acoustic speed solitons and supersolitons, we show that the decay rate is algebraic, resulting in much fatter tails. These results can be extended to double layers. However, the double layer velocity affects only one side of the tail. The other side of the tail is affected by the multiplicity of the double layer root. All the results are illustrated by means of a case study