Symmetry properties of a generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation and some explicit solutions

The symmetry group method is applied to a generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation and several classes of group invariant solutions for it are obtained by means of this technique. Polynomial, trigonometric, and elliptic function solutions can be calculated. It is shown that this generalized equation can be reduced to a first-order equation under a particular second-order differential constraint which resembles a Schrödinger equation. For a particular instance in which the constraint is satisfied, the generalized equation is reduced to a quadrature. A condition which ensures that the reciprocal of a solution is also a solution is given, and a first integral to this constraint is found.