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Abstract We examine the solution of the Benjamin–Ono Cauchy problem for rational initial data in three types of double-scaling limits in which the dispersion tends to zero while simultaneously the independent variables either approach a point on one of the two branches of the caustic curve of the inviscid Burgers equation, or approach the critical point where the branches meet. The results reveal universal limiting profiles in each case that are independent of details of the initial data. We compare the results obtained with corresponding results for the Korteweg-de Vries equation found by Claeys–Grava in three papers (Claeys and Grava in Commun Math Phys 286:979–1009, 2009, Commun Pure Appl Math 63:203–232, 2010, SIAM J Math Anal 42:2132–2154, 2010). Our method is to analyze contour integrals appearing in an explicit representation of the solution of the Cauchy problem, in various limits involving coalescing saddle points. 

Abstract We study the (characteristic) Cauchy problem for the Maxwell‐Bloch equations of light‐matter interaction via asymptotics, under assumptions that prevent the generation of solitons. Our analysis clarifies some features of the sense in which physically‐motivated initial‐boundary conditions are satisfied. In particular, we present a proper Riemann‐Hilbert problem that generates the uniquecausalsolution to the Cauchy problem, that is, the solution vanishes outside of the light cone. Inside the light cone, we relate the leading‐order asymptotics to self‐similar solutions that satisfy a system of ordinary differential equations related to the Painlevé‐III (PIII) equation. We identify these solutions and show that they are related to a family of PIII solutions recently discovered in connection with several limiting processes involving the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We fully explain a resulting boundary layer phenomenon in which, even for smooth initial data (an incident pulse), the solution makes a sudden transition over an infinitesimally small propagation distance. At a formal level, this phenomenon has been described by other authors in terms of the PIII self‐similar solutions. We make this observation precise and for the first time we relate the PIII self‐similar solutions to the Cauchy problem. Our analysis of the asymptotic behavior satisfied by the optical field and medium density matrix reveals slow decay of the optical field in one direction that is actually inconsistent with the simplest version of scattering theory. Our results identify a precise generic condition on an optical pulse incident on an initially‐unstable medium sufficient for the pulse to stimulate the decay of the medium to its stable state. 

In this paper, we will prove Bohr–Sommerfeld quantization rules for the self-adjoint Zakharov–Shabat system and the Schrödinger equation in the presence of two simple turning points bounding a classically allowed region. In particular, we use the method of comparison equations for2\times 2traceless first-order systems to provide a unified perspective that yields similar proofs in each setting. The use of a Weber model system gives results that are uniform in the eigenvalue parameter over the whole range from the bottom of the potential well up to finite values. 

This paper is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of a family of solutions of the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation called general rogue waves of infinite order. These solutions have recently been shown to describe various limit processes involving large-amplitude waves, and they have also appeared in some physical models not directly connected with nonlinear Schrödinger equations. We establish the following key property of these solutions: they are all in $$L^2(\mathbb{R})$$ with respect to the spatial variable but they exhibit anomalously slow temporal decay. In this paper, we define general rogue waves of infinite order, establish their basic exact and asymptotic properties, and provide computational tools for calculating them accurately. 

We show that the initial-value problem for the Benjamin–Ono equation on\mathbb{R}withL^{2}(\mathbb{R})rational initial data with only simple poles can be solved in closed form via a determinant formula involving contour integrals. The dimension of the determinant depends on the number of simple poles of the rational initial data only and the matrix elements depend explicitly on the independent variables(t,x)and the dispersion coefficient\epsilon. This allows for various interesting asymptotic limits to be resolved quite efficiently. As an example, and as a first step towards establishing the soliton resolution conjecture, we prove that the solution with initial datum equal to minus a soliton exhibits scattering. 

We study fundamental rogue-wave solutions of the focusing nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation in the limit that the order of the rogue wave is large and the independent variables $(x,t)$ are proportional to the order (the far-field limit). We first formulate a Riemann-Hilbert representation of these solutions that allows the order to vary continuously rather than by integer increments. The intermediate solutions in this continuous family include also soliton solutions for zero boundary conditions spectrally encoded by a single complex-conjugate pair of poles of arbitrary order, as well as other solutions having nonzero boundary conditions matching those of the rogue waves albeit with far slower decay as $$x\to\pm\infty$$. The large-order far-field asymptotic behavior of the solution depends on which of three disjoint regions $$\mathcal{C}$$ (the ``channels''), $$\mathcal{S}$$ (the ``shelves''), and $$\mathcal{E}$$(the ``exterior domain'') contains the rescaled variables. On the region \mathcal{C}, the amplitude is small and the solution is highly oscillatory, while on the region \mathcal{S}, the solution is approximated by a modulated plane wave with a highly oscillatory correction term. The asymptotic behavior on these two domains is the same for all continuous orders. Assuming that the order belongs to the discrete sequence characteristic of rogue-wave solutions, the asymptotic behavior of the solution on the region $$\exterior$$ resembles that on \mathcal{S} but without the oscillatory correction term. Solutions of other continuous orders behave quite differently on $$\mathcal{E}$$. 

The third Painlevé equation in its generic form, often referred to as Painlevé-III($$D_6$$), is given by $$ \frac{{\rm d}^2u}{{\rm d}x^2} =\frac{1}{u}\left(\frac{{\rm d}u}{{\rm d}x} \right)^2-\frac{1}{x} \frac{{\rm d}u}{{\rm d}x} + \frac{\alpha u^2 + \beta}{x}+4u^3-\frac{4}{u}, \qquad \alpha,\beta \in \mathbb C. $$ Starting from a generic initial solution $$u_0(x)$$ corresponding to parameters $$\alpha$$, $$\beta$$, denoted as the triple $$(u_0(x),\alpha,\beta)$$, we apply an explicit Bäcklund transformation to generate a family of solutions $$(u_n(x),\alpha + 4n,\beta + 4n)$$ indexed by $$n \in \mathbb N$$. We study the large $$n$$ behavior of the solutions $$(u_n(x), \alpha + 4n, \beta + 4n)$$ under the scaling $x = z/n$ in two different ways: (a) analyzing the convergence properties of series solutions to the equation, and (b) using a Riemann-Hilbert representation of the solution $$u_n(z/n)$$. Our main result is a proof that the limit of solutions $$u_n(z/n)$$ exists and is given by a solution of the degenerate Painlevé-III equation, known as Painlevé-III($$D_8$$), $$ \frac{{\rm d}^2U}{{\rm d}z^2} =\frac{1}{U}\left(\frac{{\rm d}U}{{\rm d}z}\right)^2-\frac{1}{z} \frac{{\rm d}U}{{\rm d}z} + \frac{4U^2 + 4}{z}.$$ A notable application of our result is to rational solutions of Painlevé-III($$D_6$$), which are constructed using the seed solution $(1,4m,-4m)$ where $$m \in \mathbb C \setminus \big(\mathbb Z + \frac{1}{2}\big)$$ and can be written as a particular ratio of Umemura polynomials. We identify the limiting solution in terms of both its initial condition at $z = 0$ when it is well defined, and by its monodromy data in the general case. Furthermore, as a consequence of our analysis, we deduce the asymptotic behavior of generic solutions of Painlevé-III, both $$D_6$$ and $$D_8$$ at $z = 0$. We also deduce the large $$n$$ behavior of the Umemura polynomials in a neighborhood of $z = 0$. 

It is well known that the Painlevé equations can formally degenerate to autonomous differential equations with elliptic function solutions in suitable scaling limits. A way to make this degeneration rigorous is to apply Deift-Zhou steepest-descent techniques to a Riemann-Hilbert representation of a family of solutions. This method leads to an explicit approximation formula in terms of theta functions and related algebro-geometric ingredients that is difficult to directly link to the expected limiting differential equation. However, the approximation arises from an outer parametrix that satisfies relatively simple conditions. By applying a method that we learned from Alexander Its, it is possible to use these simple conditions to directly obtain the limiting differential equation, bypassing the details of the algebro-geometric solution of the outer parametrix problem. In this paper, we illustrate the use of this method to relate an approximation of the algebraic solutions of the Painlevé-III (D$$_7$$) equation valid in the part of the complex plane where the poles and zeros of the solutions asymptotically reside to a form of the Weierstraß equation.