Mathematics

The Cauchy problem for the Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equation with small dispersion of order $\\\\epsilon^2$, is characterized by the appearance of a zone of rapid modulated oscillations of wave-length of order $\\\\epsilon$. These oscillations are approximately described by the elliptic solution of KdV where the amplitude, wave-number and frequency are not constant but evolve according to the Whitham equations. In this manuscript we give a quantitative analysis of the discrepancy between the numerical solution of the KdV equation in the small dispersion limit and the corresponding approximate solution for values of $\\\\epsilon$ between $10^{-1}$ and $10^{-3}$. The numerical results are compatible with a difference of order $\\\\epsilon$ within the `interior\\\' of the Whitham oscillatory zone, of order $\\\\epsilon^{1/3}$ at the left boundary outside the Whitham zone and of order $\\\\epsilon^{1/2}$ at the right boundary outside the Whitham zone.