Exact solutions of non-linear Klein–Gordon equation with non-constant coefficients through the trial equation method

In this note, we use an extension of the trial equation method (also called the direct integral method) for partial differential equations with non-constant coefficients to derive exact solutions in the form of nonlinear waves. The model considered generalizes other classical models from physics like the Klein–Gordon equation, the $$(1 + 1)$$ -dimensional $$\phi ^4$$ -theory, the Fisher–Kolmogorov equation from population dynamics, and the Hodgkin–Huxley model which describes the propagation of electrical signals through the nervous system. As a particular example, the cylindrically symmetric cubic nonlinear Klein–Gordon equation is considered herein.