Enhanced Lifespan of Smooth Solutions of a Burgers-Hilbert Equation

Abstract

We consider an initial value problem for a quadratically nonlinear inviscid Burgers-Hilbert equation that models the motion of vorticity discontinuities. We use a normal form transformation, which is implemented by means of a near-identity coordinate change of the independent spatial variable, to prove the existence of small, smooth solutions over cubically nonlinear time-scales. For vorticity discontinuities, this result means that there is a cubically nonlinear time-scale before the onset of filamentation.