1.1. Introduction
In this article, we study the local well-posedness of the following Schrödinger–Korteweg–de Vries (SKdV) system:
where
,
,
is a complex-valued function,
is a real-valued function, and
are polynomials, where
and
are constants. Well-posedness guarantees the reliability and predictive accuracy of equation models in various fields, making it essential for scientific research, engineering applications, and decision-making. According to our current understanding from studies on the SKdV system, we investigate the local well-posedness of the SKdV system with Robin boundary conditions. We consider the local well-posedness of the SKdV system with Robin boundary conditions from a mathematical point of view. The right side of the equals sign of this system is composed of polynomials mainly because we hope to use polynomials to approximate any arbitrary continuous function, allowing it to be applied to different SKdV systems.
Next, we introduce the SKdV system. The SKdV system is a coupled nonlinear partial differential system consisting of the Schrödinger equation, which describes complex-valued functions, and the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation, which describes real-valued functions. The Schrödinger equation characterizes the temporal evolution of the wave function, while the KdV equation describes the propagation and interaction of nonlinear waves. This system integrates the properties of two types of waves: short waves (described by the Schrödinger equation) and long waves (described by the KdV equation), making it highly applicable to the study of wave phenomena and dynamic behavior.
The SKdV system has wide applications in physics and applied mathematics. In the study of nonlinear waves, the SKdV system can describe the nonlinear dynamics of phenomena such as Langmuir waves and ion acoustic waves, which is very useful for studying wave behavior and interactions [
1,
2]. In plasma physics, the SKdV system is used to describe wave phenomena in plasmas, such as the interactions between Langmuir waves and ion acoustic waves. This is crucial to understanding the properties and behavior of plasmas [
3,
4,
5,
6,
7]. In fluid dynamics, the SKdV system is used to study wave phenomena in fluids, such as the nonlinear interactions between short and long waves, and to describe the behavior of water waves under nonlinear and dispersive effects [
8,
9]. In the field of optics, the SKdV system can be used to describe nonlinear wave and dispersion effects in optical fibers. This helps to understand the propagation characteristics of light in optical fibers and the impact of nonlinear effects on wave behavior [
10]. In wave dynamics, the SKdV system is used to describe the propagation and interaction of water waves, which has important applications in oceanography and marine engineering. For example, this system can be used to study the resonant interactions between short and long waves on the water surface [
11]. In the control theory of dynamical systems, the SKdV system is used to study the dynamic behavior and control methods of systems [
12]. In fractal dynamics, the SKdV system is used to describe dynamical systems with fractal characteristics, and the behavior and properties of such systems are further studied [
13,
14]. In the study of chaotic synchronization, the SKdV system is used to investigate synchronization phenomena and control methods in chaotic systems [
15]. These applications demonstrate the versatile use of the SKdV system in various fields and provide a deep understanding of the dynamic behavior of such systems and control methods.
We present some relatively new research on the SKdV system. Shang, Li, and Li [
16] investigate traveling wave solutions of a coupled Schrödinger–Korteweg–de Vries equation using the generalized coupled trial equation method. The researchers have utilized this method to discover a series of exact traveling wave solutions, which hold significant importance in understanding various processes in dusty plasma. This study provides an effective solution for nonlinear evolution equation systems and highlights the practical applications of these equations in physics. Khan, Khan, and Ahmad [
17] investigated the fractal fractional nonlinear Korteweg–de-Vries–Schrödinger system with a power law kernel. The study utilizes the Yang transform and Caputo fractional fractal operator, applying the Yang transform homotopy perturbation method to solve this system. The research aims to analyze the existence and uniqueness of the solution and provides graphical representations of the results. The article also involves fixed point theory and nonlinear functional analysis to delve into this challenging mathematical problem. Noor, Alotaibi, Shah, Ismaeel, and El-Tantawy [
18] analyze solitary waves and nonlinear oscillations of the fractional Schrödinger–KdV equation using the Caputo Operator framework. They employ the Laplace residual power series method (LRPSM) to study this model and compare the resulting approximations with exact solutions in the integer case. Their research shows that the approximations are highly accurate and more stable over large space-time domains.
Now, we present recent articles that discuss the existence, uniqueness, and well-posedness of solutions associated with the SKdV system. Guo and Miao [
6] studied the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for the SKdV system. By establishing global well-posedness in specific function spaces, this research explored the nonlinear dynamics equations describing one-dimensional Langmuir and ion acoustic waves. The work focused on the mathematical properties of the system, the existence and uniqueness of solutions, and the relationship between the electric field of Langmuir oscillations and low-frequency density perturbations. Corcho and Linares [
12] studied the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for the SKdV system. The authors studied the local well-posedness for weak initial data and obtained well-posedness results for data in Sobolev space
. These results also led to global well-posedness in energy space
. The authors improved upon previous research on the well-posedness of the SKdV system. Matheus [
19] showed that the Cauchy problem for the SKdV system with periodic functions is globally well-posed in the energy space
. The study used the I-method introduced by Colliander et al. and improved the results of Arbieto et al. on the global well-posedness of the SKdV system. The author conducted a thorough investigation and proof of the global well-posedness of the SKdV system for periodic functions. Guo and Wang [
7] studied the well-posedness of the SKdV system, in particular, for initial data in the Sobolev spaces
and
. The article introduced
-type spaces to handle the KdV component and coupling terms of the system, overcoming difficulties arising from the lack of scale invariance through unified estimates of multipliers. The authors demonstrated the local well-posedness of the SKdV system for certain initial data under resonance conditions.
Wang and Cui [
20] established the local well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for the SKdV system in different function spaces. Using bilinear estimates and other techniques, the authors presented results on the local well-posedness of the system under certain conditions. Guo, Ma, and Zhang [
21] investigated the global existence and uniqueness of solutions for the fractional SKdV system. Using the contraction method, the authors addressed local existence and uniqueness and proved the global existence of solutions over time using a priori estimates. Cavalcante and Corcho [
10] studied the local progress theory of the SKdV system on the half-line. Cavalcante and Corcho [
22] studied the well-posedness and lower bounds of the growth of weighted norms for the SKdV system on the half-line. The authors studied the initial boundary value problem for the SKdV system, analyzing the growth of the weighted norms of the solutions over time. By studying the dynamical properties and norm growth of the SKdV system, they determined the well-posedness and lower bounds, thus gaining a deeper understanding of the behavior and characteristics of this nonlinear evolution system. Chen [
23] studied the periodic solutions of the SKdV system, in particular, the influence of boundary and external forces on the solutions. The author discussed the existence of theorems for periodic, quasi-periodic, and nearly periodic solutions, investigating their properties and characteristics under various conditions. The focus was on the stability and periodicity of the solutions, as well as on the influence of external forces on the dynamical behavior of the system. Compaan, Shin, and Tzirakis [
24] studied the well-posedness of the SKdV system on the half-line. By applying multilinear harmonic analysis techniques, the authors improved the well-posedness theory based on
solutions. They studied the local well-posedness and global existence of the system and proposed theorems describing the behavior of the solutions. In addition, they discussed the smoothing effects and the growth of the solutions under different parameter conditions. Himonas and Yan [
11] investigated the well-posedness of the initial boundary value problem for the SKdV system on the half-line. Using the Fokas unified transform method, they analyzed the well-posedness of the problem, discussing linear space-time estimates and quadratic/cubic estimates in Bourgain space.
After introducing the SKdV system, the main research of this paper will be presented next.
1.2. Main Results
In this paper, we demonstrate the local well-posedness of the SKdV system presented below.
where
,
is a complex-valued function,
is a real-valued function,
are polynomials,
and
are constants, and
and
are initial data with
. The boundary data
and
are suggested by the time regularity of the boundary value problems (BVPs) for the corresponding linear equations.
In this article, we demonstrate the local well-posedness of the initial boundary value problem (IBVP) (
1). The proof consists of four steps. In the first step, we replace the nonlinear terms
and
with external forces and apply the unified transform method (UTM) to solve the corresponding linear IBVPs. In the second step, we derive linear estimates using the UTM formula, considering data and forcing in suitable spaces. (The UTM and its applications were introduced by Fokas [
25,
26,
27,
28]). In the third step, we define an iteration map in a suitable solution space by the UTM formula with the forcing terms replaced by the nonlinearities and prove that the iteration map is a contraction map and onto some closed ball
, and by the contraction mapping theorem, the IBVP (
1) has a unique solution. Finally, in the fourth step, we prove the local Lipschitz continuity of the data-to-solution map, thereby confirming the local well-posedness of the IBVP (
1).
In [
29], the authors mentioned the advantages of UTM over other standard methods and gave some examples for discussion. The UTM complements the standard method for the following reasons: In situations where the standard method can produce an explicit solution, the UTM can also do so, and the solution formula obtained is equivalent; it is more efficient than the standard method. It is versatile and can generate solution formulas for many problems that cannot be solved by classical methods, especially problems with higher than second-order derivatives; the standard method is a collection of methods for specific equations and boundary conditions, while the UTM uses the same idea. The UTM can generate explicit solution formulas and determine in a straightforward way how many and which boundary conditions lead to a well-formulated problem, especially for problems with higher than second-order derivatives. The solution can be efficiently evaluated by various means, such as parameterization of the integration path, to make the integral easy to evaluate by numerical methods, asymptotic methods like the steep descent method, the residue theorem, etc. Background knowledge is limited to knowledge of Fourier transform and inverse Fourier transform pairs, the residue theorem, and Jordan’s lemma.
Now, we provide an overview of Sobolev spaces. For
, the Sobolev space
consists of all tempered distributions
F with the finite norm:
where the Fourier transform
is defined by
Additionally, for an interval
which may extend to infinity on either side, the Sobolev space
is defined as
Solving the forced linear Robin IBVP using the UTM leads us to the following Fourier transform.
Definition 1 (Fourier transform on the half-line)
. For a test function which is defined on , its half-line Fourier transform is expressed aswhere and . Here, and denote the imaginary and real parts of k, respectively. Remark 1. For Equation (2), it is evident that if ψ is an integrable function on , then is well-defined for . In fact, within the more suitable space , the half-line Fourier transform can be defined. Specifically, ψ in can be extended to the entire real line by defining for , resulting in a function in . Consequently, the half-line Fourier transform of ψ can be expressed using the same formula as the Fourier transform for its extension to the real line. Thus, the inverse of this transform can also be derived, which corresponds to the inverse Fourier transform on the real line. Let’s start by outlining the first step of our approach to solving the Robin problem related to the forced linear Schrödinger equation and the forced linear KdV equation:
and
respectively. By the UTM formulation, the solution to (
3) is denoted by
where
and the solution of (
4) is denoted by
where
,
and
and
are represented in
Figure 1.
Next, we outline the second step, which involves estimating the Hadamard norm of the UTM solution formulas
(
5) and
(
6) based on the Sobolev norms of the data and a suitable norm of the forcing. In particular, we have the following linear estimates. The linear estimate for the Schrödinger equation IBVP is as follows:
Theorem 1 (The linear estimate for the Schrödinger equation IBVP [
30])
. Suppose , , and . Then, the solution of the forced linear Schrödinger equation IBVP (3) given by (5) satisfies the estimate:where is a constant depending on s. We can use a similar proof process for Theorem 1.2 in [
30] to obtain the above theorem.
The linear estimate for the KdV equation IBVP is as follows:
Theorem 2 (The linear estimate for the KdV equation IBVP [
31])
. Suppose , , and . Then, the solution of the forced linear KdV equation IBVP (4) given by (6) satisfies the estimate:where is a constant depending on s. We can find the above theorem in [
31].
In the third and fourth steps, our objective is to prove the uniqueness of the solution for (
1) and to demonstrate that the data-to-solution map is locally Lipschitz continuous. To achieve this, for
and
, we define two Banach spaces
and
:
with the norm
and
where the norms
are defined as
where
is defined by
where
,
, and
.
Then, we define the complete metric space
and the data space
D as
with the norm
The data space
with the norm
for
.
We then present the main result of this work using the definitions provided above.
Theorem 3 (The local well-posedness of the SKdV system)
. Consider the SKdV system (1). Suppose and . For the data , , and .Then, there exist and which are constants depending on s, and , whereandsuch that the SKdV system (1) has a unique solution and the solution satisfies the size estimateFurthermore, the data-to-solution map is locally Lipschitz continuous. According to the above theorem, we have proven that under certain conditions there will be a unique solution to the SKdV system (
1). Regarding the difficulty in studying the local well-posedness of the SKdV system: The SKdV system will involve the algebraic property of the nonlinear estimation term. In two-dimensional space,
must be in
, even in
dimensional space, and
must be in
to satisfy the algebraic property. This is a major challenge for existing estimation techniques for the KdV equation.
To facilitate calculations and presentation, we use the following notations.
Remark 2. For two quantities and that depend on one or several variables, we write if there exists a positive constant c such that . If and , then we denote this relationship by .
In
Section 2, we provide some tools that will be used in later sections.
Section 3 outlines the proof of Theorem 2 in preparation for the proof in
Section 5. In
Section 4 and
Section 5, we define a new space, give the
-norm estimates for the UTM solution of the forced linear KdV IBVP (
4), and finish the proof of Proposition 2. In
Section 6, we define the iteration map and demonstrate that it is a contraction mapping onto a closed ball. We then use the contraction mapping theorem to establish the uniqueness of the solution. Additionally, in Lemma 12, we show that the data-to-solution map is locally Lipschitz continuous. Finally, we complete the proof of Theorem 3.
Regarding
Section 6, since we consider the SKdV system with polynomial nonlinear terms, the proof of existence and uniqueness of solutions is more complex than in [
30,
31,
32,
33]. In proving that the iteration map is both onto and a contraction, more considerations about the lifetime of the solution are required. For example, the coefficients and degrees of the polynomials affect the length of the existence time, and the size of the unique solution also requires additional considerations based on the data norm and the corresponding range of
s. Furthermore, in proving the data-to-solution aspect of local well-posedness, the determination of the lifetime requires more complicated estimates due to the polynomial nonlinear terms in the SKdV system. For example, the existence range of the solution is also affected by the coefficients and degrees of the polynomials. Therefore, the estimates in
Section 6 extend and apply the results of [
30,
31,
32,
33].
In this paper, we consider the SKdV system with polynomial nonlinear terms and Robin boundary conditions and discuss linear space-time estimates and the polynomial nonlinear terms in Sobolev space. This differs from the work of Himonas and Yan [
11], who considered the SKdV system under Dirichlet boundary conditions and discussed linear space-time estimates and quadratic/cubic estimates in Bourgain space.