Interpretation of three-soliton interactions in terms of resonant triads

Abstract

The three-soliton solution of the two-dimensional Korteweg-de Vries equation is analysed to show that the structure of the interaction can be represented in terms of the motion of two-soliton resonant interactions (resonant triads) as described by Miles (1977). The schematic development of the interaction with time is obtained and shown to approximate closely to computer calculations of the analytic solution. Similar results follow for interactions of more solitons and other equations.