Applied Mathematical Sciences

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 77, No. 8, pp. 4393-4394, August 1980

Backlund transformations for multidimensional sine-Gordon equations

(nonlinear evolution/reduction to lower dimensions/superposition principle)

R. BENGURIA AND K. M. CASE

The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021

Contributed by Kenneth M. Case, May 12,1980

A class of Bicklund transformations for mulABSTRACT tidimensional sine-Gordon equations is shown to relate solutions of only one- and two-dimensional equations. Also, a proposed superposition principle is shown to be useless.

In recent years a number of authors (1-3) have reported BMcklund transformations relating solutions of the (physically important) sine-Gordon equations in two space and one time and in three space and one time variables. The point of this note is to show that, unfortunately, these transformations are but minor variations on the well-known (4) transformations relating solutions of the sine-Gordon equation with one space and one time variable. That this is so is particularly clear for the transformation given in ref. 1. There, the sine-Gordon equation in three space and one time variable
(V2- )u = g sin u

contradiction unless the new solutions are identically equal to the old ones. Backlund transformations in N space and one time variable In refs. 2 and 3, Bicklund transformations relating real solutions in three space and one time variable of the sine-Gordon equation

F C * ,a = sin a
and the sinh-Gordon equation

[5]

E? awamfl = sinh AS
=

13.

[6]

[1]

is rewritten as

Ur+,. + ux+,x. - g sin u where new variables 1 I ,r= 2 (z b t), x = (x + iy)

[2]
[3]

are introduced. Then, BMcklund transformations are givenifor functions u which satisfy

(For reasons that will be evident, the summation convention is not used.) Thus, let K Ibx + iolay + icrab + o2?lt [7] M = expflial exp[(-iqka2)exp(-,raj)]j [8] "where a,, a2, as are the usual Pauli matrices and I is the 2 X 2 identity matrix." The real parameters 0, X, r are in the ranges 0 < 0 < 2H, 0 K X < 2H, -o < r < +o. Then the transformation is (a- i) = M sin (a+ K [9]
22

UTr+ ,- = 1 g sin u
and
[4]

Ux+ x-=

1gb

sin u.

It readily follows that, if Eq. 9 is satisfied, Eq. 5 for a and Eq. 6 for ,3 is satisfied. However, if one writes out explicitly the four equations implied by Eq. 9, it is seen that these are (a - 01) = (0) sin +if ,u = 0, 1, 2, 3. [10] sin 2 A (

aa

Clearly then, Eq. 2 is satisfied. But all that has been done is to paste together the solutions of two two-dimensional sine-Gordon equations. The fact that the transformations described in refs. 2 and 3 can similarly be reduced to well-known results is somewhat obscured by the notation used. Below it is shown that these transformations relate solutions of the one-dimensional sineGordon equation (the physical pendulum). In particular the general functions satisfying these Bdcklund transformations are obtained. They are Jacobi elliptic functions of a single variable. Also in refs. 2 and 3, superposition principles are given for solutions of the sine-Gordon and sinh-Gordon equations. Here, permutivity of the Bicklund transformations is assumed. In a later section below it is shown that the derivation leads to a
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4393

The parameter range of 0, X, r implies a,() real and

E a(0)'a,() = 1.
AS

[11]

Therefore, Eqs. 5 and 6 are certainly satisfied. But much more is implied. Indeed aya = a()Aa,() sin a [12] and aa MO = a()ua.,() sinh 13. [13] Thus, there are four one-dimensional sine-Gordon equations and four one-dimensional sinh-Gordon equations related by Eq. 11. The Backlund transformation of Eq. 9 merely pastes together the four one-dimensional transformations of Eq. 10. Now note: (i) Written in the form of Eq. 10 it is seen that (while rather trivial) the transformation works just as well for N space and one time variable provided only that Eq. 11 holds.

4394

Applied Mathematical Sciences: Benguria and Case

(ii) The general a and : (for N + 1 dimensions) that satisfy Eq. 10 are readily found. Indeed, consider N additional constant vectors a('), i = 1, 2, . . ., N such that [14] a(M)(i)a,(J) = 3i, i, j, = O, 1,...,N. Introducing new coordinates y(n) by y(n) = a. (n) X/ [15] it is seen that Eq. 10 becomes a (a- i ,sin (a + if) [16]

by(l)

and

by(j)

a (a - i)0
2
-2

Therefore, a and 3 are functions only of y(l) and satisfy

a = sin a,

Thus, the solutions of Eq. 9 are those of one-dimensional sineand sinh-Gordon equations. The general solutions are
a
sin

and

sinh

where the notation of ref. 5 for the elliptic functions is used and c and c' are arbitrary constants. For special values of k these are elementary. Thus, if in Eq. 20 we put k = -1, we obtain the four solutions a = +4 tan-1 e(Y - c)
a = +4 tan- e-(y -c) a = -4 tan-l e(Y - c)

~ sin
2
-

a2:3 ayfl)

I 2~ = sn y(O)

-4 tan-l e-(y -c) The first of these is just what one gets from the BAcklund transformation with /3 = 0, i.e., a a [2 a (') a = sin [22] 2 2
a=

The second solution arises from the fact that, if instead of Eq.
22 one has

-( [23] (3y(O) 2 = -sin 2'[3

-

3a a

~-

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77 (1980)

then Eq. 18 is still satisfied. The last two solutions are obvious because if a is a solution so is -a. Similarly, if k' co the solutions of Eq. 21 are the four elementary functions /3 = 4 tanh-' exp +(y - c). [24] The superposition principle Consider two solutions AI, /2 connected with a solution by means of the Backlund transformations with parameters aM,( and a,(0')-i.e., ay (ao 2 ili) = a (0) sin (ao + ii) sin [25] 2

[17]

a(ao 2 if32)
A
-

' (0)
A

sn(ao + i 32). i 2

[26]

[18]

Suppose that the Backlund transformations are permutitive-i.e., the solution a2 obtained from AI with a,(/') is the same as that obtained from /2 with a,(). Then

= sinhB.

[19]

l,

(31 2 a2)= a(') sin (a2 +i1) sin 2 =a(

si + (i/2 du 2 a2) =a (0) si (a2 2 0/2)

[27]

[28]

kX

[20]

Eliminating the derivatives from Eqs. 25-28 and assuming [ao + a2 +il + i/2] 0 Cos
2

yields
, C,

=sc [Y

kJ

[21]

a(0'>.-.a (0) a2 a(M) + a (0) tan 2 a0Ct

i tanh 02 A 2
-

29]

By assumption a,(), al,('), a2, ao, /2, and /i all are real. Thus, the left hand side of Eq. 29 is real and the righthand side is purely imaginary. Therefore, both are zero. Accordingly, /2 = /1. For the lefthand side there are two possibilities: (i) a,() = aM,0'). This seems most likely because /1 = /2. Then the equation is: 0 0, which certainly does not determine
an a2-

(ii) aA(M) #

a?,1). Here it follows that a2 = ao.

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant MCS 78-20455.
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Phys. 3,351-358.
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61, 1443-1470. 5. Whittaker, E. T. & Watson, G. N. (1943) A Course of Modern Analyses (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England), pp. 491-495.