Using Symmetries to Investigate the Complete Integrability, Solitary Wave Solutions and Solitons of the Gardner Equation

In this paper, using a scaling symmetry, it is shown how to compute polynomial conservation laws, generalized symmetries, recursion operators, Lax pairs, and bilinear forms of polynomial nonlinear partial differential equations, thereby establishing their complete integrability. The Gardner equation is chosen as the key example, as it comprises both the Korteweg–de Vries and modified Korteweg–de Vries equations. The Gardner and Miura transformations, which connect these equations, are also computed using the concept of scaling homogeneity. Exact solitary wave solutions and solitons of the Gardner equation are derived using Hirota’s method and other direct methods. The nature of these solutions depends on the sign of the cubic term in the Gardner equation and the underlying mKdV equation. It is shown that flat (table-top) waves of large amplitude only occur when the sign of the cubic nonlinearity is negative (defocusing case), whereas the focusing Gardner equation has standard elastically colliding solitons. This paper’s aim is to provide a review of the integrability properties and solutions of the Gardner equation and to illustrate the applicability of the scaling symmetry approach. The methods and algorithms used in this paper have been implemented in <i>Mathematica</i>, but can be adapted for major computer algebra systems.