Modified homotopy perturbation method and its application to analytical solitons of fractional-order Korteweg–de Vries equation

Abstract

Abstract Background Experimentally brought to light by Russell and hypothetically explained by Korteweg–de Vries, the KDV equation has drawn the attention of several mathematicians and physicists because of its extreme substantial structure in describing nonlinear evolution equations governing the propagation of weakly dispersive and nonlinear waves. Due to the prevalent nature and application of solitary waves in nonlinear dynamics, we discuss the soliton solution and application of the fractional-order Korteweg–de Vries (KDV) equation using a new analytical approach named the “Modified initial guess homotopy perturbation.” Results We established the proposed technique by coupling a power series function of arbitrary order with the renown homotopy perturbation method. The convergence of the method is proved using the Banach fixed point theorem. The methodology was demonstrated with a generalized KDV equation, and we applied it to solve linear and nonlinear fractional-order Korteweg–de Vries equations, which are in Caputo sense. The method’s applicability and effectiveness were established as a feasible series of arbitrary orders that accelerate quickly to the exact solution at an integer order and are obtained as solutions. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of Caputo fractional-order derivatives in the dispersion and propagation of water waves by varying the order $$\alpha$$ α on the $$[0,1]$$ [ 0 , 1 ] interval. Comparative analysis of the simulation results, which were presented graphically and discussed, reveals that the degree of freedom of the Caputo fractional-order derivative is vital to controlling the magnitude of environmental hazards associated with water waves when adjusted. Conclusion The proposed method is recommended for obtaining convergent series solutions to fractional-order partial differential equations. We suggested that applied mathematicians and physicists investigate this work to better understand the impact of the degree of freedom posed by Caputo fractional-order derivatives in wave dispersion and propagation, as physical applications can help divert wave-related environmental hazards.