On the dynamics of zero-speed solutions for Camassa-Holm type equations

TL;DR

This paper investigates the long-term behavior of solutions to Camassa-Holm type equations, proving that zero-speed solutions do not persist under certain conditions and establishing decay and scattering results for these models.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of zero-speed and breather solutions for CH type equations and proves their nonexistence under decay assumptions, extending analysis beyond integrable cases.

Findings

Zero-speed solutions do not exist under decay assumptions.

Solutions exhibit decay and scattering behavior as time progresses.

The methods apply to both integrable and nonintegrable CH type equations.

Abstract

In this paper we consider globally defined solutions of Camassa-Holm (CH) type equations outside the well-known nonzero speed, peakon region. These equations include the standard CH and Degasperis-Procesi (DP) equations, as well as nonintegrable generalizations such as the $b$-family, elastic rod and BBM equations. Having globally defined solutions for these models, we introduce the notion of \emph{zero-speed and breather solutions}, i.e., solutions that do not decay to zero as $t\to +\infty$ on compact intervals of space. We prove that, under suitable decay assumptions, such solutions do not exist because the identically zero solution is the global attractor of the dynamics, at least in a spatial interval of size $|x|\lesssim t^{1/2-}$ as $t\to+\infty$. As a consequence, we also show scattering and decay in CH type equations with long range nonlinearities. Our proof relies in the introduction of suitable Virial functionals \`a la Martel-Merle in the spirit of the works by one of us and Ponce, and Kowalczyk-Martel adapted to CH, DP and BBM type dynamics, one of them placed in $L^1_x$, and a second one in the energy space $H^1_x$. Both functionals combined lead to local in space decay to zero in $|x|\lesssim t^{1/2-}$ as $t\to+\infty$. Our methods do not rely on the integrable character of the equation, applying to other nonintegrable families of CH type equations as well.