On critical behaviour in generalized Kadomtsev--Petviashvili equations

An asymptotic description of the formation of dispersive shock waves in solutions to the generalized Kadomtsev--Petviashvili (KP) equation is conjectured. The asymptotic description based on a multiscales expansion is given in terms of a special solution to an ordinary differential equation of the Painleve' I hierarchy. Several examples are discussed numerically to provide strong evidence for the validity of the conjecture.