The General Structure of Trilinear Equations

Abstract: We investigate trilinear structures as a natural extension of the Hirota bilinear formalism in integrable systems. While bilinear equations are associated with Grassmannian geometry and Plücker relations, trilinear equations suggest a higher algebraic structure involving three-slot couplings of tau functions. Focusing on the stationary axisymmetric Einstein equations, we show that when the Ernst potential is written in a tau-ratio form, the nonlinear equation decomposes into a cubic sector containing all second-derivative terms and a quartic gradient envelope. The cubic sector is identified with a YTSF-type trilinear kernel. We formulate a general trilinear kernel criterion and apply it to the Tomimatsu--Sato solutions. In particular, we demonstrate that the $δ=3$ solution possesses the same trilinear kernel structure as the $δ=2$ case, with a universal normalization up to a constant factor. These results suggest that the trilinear kernel represents a universal structure governing the highest-derivative sector of the Ernst system, providing a new perspective on integrability beyond the bilinear hierarchy.