Bilinear form, bilinear Bäcklund transformation and dynamic features of the soliton solutions for a variable-coefficient (3+1)-dimensional generalized shallow water wave equation

Under investigation in this letter is a variable-coefficient (3[Formula: see text]+[Formula: see text]1)-dimensional generalized shallow water wave equation. Bilinear form and Bäcklund transformation are obtained. One-, two- and three-soliton solutions are derived via the Hirota bilinear method. Interaction and propagation of the solitons are discussed graphically. Stability of the solitons is studied numerically. Soliton amplitude is determined by the spectral parameters. Soliton velocity is not only related to the spectral parameters, but also to the variable coefficients. Phase shifts are the only difference between the two-soliton solutions and the superposition of the two relevant one-soliton solutions. Numerical investigation on the stability of the solitons indicates that the solitons could resist the disturbance of small perturbations and propagate steadily.