Investigation of the wave solutions of two space–time fractional equations in physics

Abstract

In this study, two fractional differential equations describing the characteristics of three-dimensional nonlinear ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) in plasmas are considered with the conformable fractional derivative (CFD). 3+1-dimensional space–time fractional Jimbo–Miwa (JM) equation and 3+1-dimensional space–time fractional modified KdV–Zakharov–Kuznetsov (mKdV-ZK) equation are reduced into ordinary differential equations and an investigation into the exact solutions is carried out through the modified exponential function method (MEFM). These exact wave solutions are beneficial in interpreting the interior structure and characteristics of physical phenomena modeled by the aforementioned nonlinear evolution equations (NLEEs) arising in magnetized plasma. Various analytical methods were applied to such equations. Therefore, it is vital to determine the proper technique for the present problem. The proposed scheme has demonstrated a different spectrum of wave structures. The portrait of the exact solutions permits the exploration of plasmas, plasma models, and optics. The software system Mathematica is employed and the rational, exponential, trigonometric, and hyperbolic function solutions are acquired. The graphical results are presented for the physical nature of the solutions. The results are compared with the integer-order models. © 2024 The Authors