Abstract. We investigate a perturbation of a scalar field model (called here the signum-Gordon model) with the potential V(f) = |f|. The perturbation generalizes the signum-Gordon model to the signum-Klein–Gordon model, i.e. to the case , where λ is a small parameter. Such a generalization breaks the scaling symmetry of the signum-Gordon model. In this paper we concentrate on solutions for self-similar initial data. Such data are particularly useful for identification of the effects caused by the term that breaks the scaling symmetry. We have found that the behaviour of the solutions is quite interesting—they escape and return periodically to the self-similar initial data.

PACS numbers: 05.45.−a, 03.50.Kk, 11.10.Lm

Print publication: Issue 9 (7 March 2008)
Received 20 November 2007, in final form 21 January 2008
Published 19 February 2008