Approximate symmetries and similarity solutions for wave equations on liquid films

Abstract

We study the exact and approximate Lie symmetries for two equations which describe long waves with small amplitude on liquid films. Specifically, we study the 1+2 Benney-Luke and the 1+1 Benney-Lin equations, both from an exact and approximate perspective. To induce approximate symmetries, we show that terms involving derivatives higher than two are necessarily selected as the perturbation parameters. We construct conservation laws for both equations, and illustrate how the approximate point symmetries can be used to determine approximate similarity solutions.