Asymptotic scaling symmetries for nonlinear PDEs

In some cases, solutions to nonlinear PDEs happen to be asymptotically (for large x and/or t) invariant under a group G which is not a symmetry of the equation. After recalling the geometrical meaning of symmetries of differential equations – and solution-preserving maps – we provide a precise definition of asymptotic symmetries of PDEs; we deal in particular, for ease of discussion and physical relevance, with scaling and translation symmetries of scalar equations. We apply the general discussion to a class of “Richardson-like” anomalous diffusion and reaction-diffusion equations, whose solution are known by numerical experiments to be asymptotically scale invariant; we obtain an analytical explanation of the numerically observed asymptotic scaling properties. We also apply our method to a different class of anomalous diffusion equations, relevant in optical lattices. The methods developed here can be applied to more general equations, as clear by their geometrical construction.