Quasi self-adjoint nonlinear wave equations

Abstract

In this paper we generalize the classification of self-adjoint second-order linear partial differential equation to a family of nonlinear wave equations with two independent variables. We find a class of quasi self-adjoint nonlinear equations which includes the self-adjoint linear equations as a particular case. The property of a differential equation to be quasi self-adjoint is important, e.g. for constructing conservation laws associated with symmetries of the differential equation.