Validity of the KdV equation for the modulation of periodic traveling waves in the NLS equation

Bethuel et al. [1,2] and Chiron and Rousset [3] gave very nice proofs of the fact that slow modulations in time and space of periodic wave trains of the NLS equation can approximately be described via solutions of the KdV equation associated with the wave train. Here we give a much shorter proof of a slightly weaker result avoiding the very detailed and fine analysis of [1–3]. Our error estimates are based on a suitable choice of polar coordinates, a Cauchy–Kowalevskaya-like method, and energy estimates.