Finite-interval Airy global relation (${\hat{q}}_0-e^{-i{k}^{3}t}\hat{q}=\mathcal{F}-e^{-ikL}\mathcal{G}$)

For the Airy equation $q_t+q_{xxx}=0$ on $0<x<L$, define $F_j={\int }_0^t{e}^{-i{k}^{3}s}{\partial }_x^{j}q(0,s)ds$ and $G_j$ analogously at $L$. Set $\mathcal{F}=k^2{F}_0-ik{F}_1-F_2$ and $\mathcal{G}=k^2{G}_0-ik{G}_1-G_2$. Integrating the local relation with flux $-q_{xx}-ik{q}_x+k^{2}q$ proves the displayed global relation. The dispersion relation is invariant under multiplication of $k$ by a cube root of unity; the resulting three equations determine the three missing boundary transforms for data $q(0,t),q(L,t),q_x(L,t)$.

Here $\alpha =e^{2\pi i/3}$. The missing-trace matrix has determinant $-\sqrt{3}k\Delta (k)$. Its nonzero zeros are the eigenvalues in the parametrization $Av=i{k}^{3}v$ of $A=-d^3/d{x}^3$ with $v(0)=v(L)=v^{\prime }(L)=0$. Integration by parts gives $\mathrm{Re}⟨v,Av⟩=-|v^{\prime }(0){|}^2/2$. No nonzero zero lies in $\mathrm{Re}(-i{k}^3)\le 0$: on its boundary the determinant equation reduces, after rotation, to an equality between a unit-modulus exponential and $\cosh u-i\sqrt{3}\sinh u$, whose modulus exceeds one unless $u=0$. The zero at the origin is removable in the original boundary problem. There are nevertheless infinitely many genuine negative eigenvalues of $A$, obtained from $e^{-3s/2}=2\cos (\sqrt{3}s/2+\pi /3)$, $s>0$, with $k=-is/L$. Absence of contour poles in the Fokas method does not imply absence of discrete spectrum of the operator.