Numerical Methods for the Fractional Laplacian: a Finite Difference-quadrature Approach

The fractional Laplacian $(-\Delta)^{\alpha/2}$ is a non-local operator which depends on the parameter $\alpha$ and recovers the usual Laplacian as $\alpha \to 2$. A numerical method for the fractional Laplacian is proposed, based on the singular integral representation for the operator. The method combines finite difference with numerical quadrature, to obtain a discrete convolution operator with positive weights. The accuracy of the method is shown to be $O(h^{3-\alpha})$. Convergence of the method is proven. The treatment of far field boundary conditions using an asymptotic approximation to the integral is used to obtain an accurate method. Numerical experiments on known exact solutions validate the predicted convergence rates. Computational examples include exponentially and algebraically decaying solution with varying regularity. The generalization to nonlinear equations involving the operator is discussed: the obstacle problem for the fractional Laplacian is computed.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure

Fractional Bernstein operational matrices for solving integro-differential equations involved by Caputo fractional derivative

The present work is devoted to developing two numerical techniques based on fractional Bernstein polynomials, namely fractional Bernstein operational matrix method, to numerically solving a class of fractional integro-differential equations (FIDEs). The first scheme is introduced based on the idea of operational matrices generated using integration, whereas the second one is based on operational matrices of differentiation using the collocation technique. We apply the Riemann–Liouville and fractional derivative in Caputo’s sense on Bernstein polynomials, to obtain the approximate solutions of the proposed FIDEs. We also provide the residual correction procedure for both methods to estimate the absolute errors. Some results of the perturbation and stability analysis of the methods are theoretically and practically presented. We demonstrate the applicability and accuracy of the proposed schemes by a series of numerical examples. The numerical simulation exactly meets the exact solution and reaches almost zero absolute error whenever the exact solution is a polynomial. We compare the algorithms with some known analytic and semi-analytic methods. As a result, our algorithm based on the Bernstein series solution methods yield better results and show outstanding and optimal performance with high accuracy orders compared with those obtained from the optimal homotopy asymptotic method, standard and perturbed least squares method, CAS and Legendre wavelets method, and fractional Euler wavelet method

Discrete gradient structure of a second-order variable-step method for nonlinear integro-differential models

The discrete gradient structure and the positive definiteness of discrete fractional integrals or derivatives are fundamental to the numerical stability in long-time simulation of nonlinear integro-differential models. We build up a discrete gradient structure for a class of second-order variable-step approximations of fractional Riemann-Liouville integral and fractional Caputo derivative. Then certain variational energy dissipation laws at discrete levels of the corresponding variable-step Crank-Nicolson type methods are established for time-fractional Allen-Cahn and time-fractional Klein-Gordon type models. They are shown to be asymptotically compatible with the associated energy laws of the classical Allen-Cahn and Klein-Gordon equations in the associated fractional order limits.Numerical examples together with an adaptive time-stepping procedure are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our second-order methods.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, 2 table

High order algorithms for numerical solution of fractional differential equations

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in [Advances in Difference Equations]. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13662-021-03273-4.In this paper, two novel high order numerical algorithms are proposed for solving fractional differential equations where the fractional derivative is considered in the Caputo sense. The total domain is discretized into a set of small subdomains and then the unknown functions are approximated using the piecewise Lagrange interpolation polynomial of degree three and degree four. The detailed error analysis is presented, and it is analytically proven that the proposed algorithms are of orders 4 and 5. The stability of the algorithms is rigorously established and the stability region is also achieved. Numerical examples are provided to check the theoretical results and illustrate the efficiency and applicability of the novel algorithms

COMPARISON OF VARIOUS FRACTIONAL BASIS FUNCTIONS FOR SOLVING FRACTIONAL-ORDER LOGISTIC POPULATION MODEL

Three types of orthogonal polynomials (Chebyshev, Chelyshkov, and Legendre) are employed as basis functions in a collocation scheme to solve a nonlinear cubic initial value problem arising in population growth models. The method reduces the given problem to a set of algebraic equations consist of polynomial coefficients. Our main goal is to present a comparative study of these polynomials and to asses their performances and accuracies applied to the logistic population equation. Numerical applications are given to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the method. Comparisons are also made between the present method based on different basis functions and other existing approximation algorithms

Solving fractional Fredholm integro-differential equations by Laguerre polynomials

The main purpose of this study was to present an approximation method based on the Laguerre polynomials to obtain the solutions of the fractional linear Fredholm integro-differential equations. This method transforms the integro-differential equation to a system of linear algebraic equations by using the collocation points. In addition, the matrix relation for Caputo fractional derivative of Laguerre polynomials is also obtained. Besides, some examples are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the method and the results are discussed

Comparative Study of Uniform and Graded Meshes for Solving Convection-Diffusion Equation with Quadratic Source

Due to its fundamental nature, the problems of convection-diffusion are discussed in various aviation, science and engineering applications. Among major applications are in the study of the dynamics of aircraft wake vortex and its interaction with turbulent jet which is a very serious hazard in aviation. Other applications include those in the investigation of intrusive sampling of jet engine exhaust gases, and the effectiveness of hot fluid injection in the removal of ice on aircraft wings. The numerical solutions of convection-diffusion require proper meshing schemes. Among major meshes in computational fluid dynamics are those of uniform, piecewise-uniform, graded, and hybrid over which the solutions of discretized governing equations are found. Bad solutions as spurious fluctuations, over- or under-predictions, and excessive computation time might be the results of unwitting application of the meshes. Accentuating comparative effectiveness of two meshes, namely uniform mesh and graded mesh with mesh expansion factor, this paper takes the solution of a convection-diffusion equation with quadratic source term into account. The problem is solved by assigning several values of mesh expansion factor to graded mesh, while mesh number is kept constant. The factors are calculated based on the generalization of their logarithmically linear relationship with low Peclet numbers derived in previous work. Based on the values of Peclet number, five test cases are considered. Graded mesh is proven relatively more robust, particularly due the solution on the mesh being free from spurious fluctuation. Furthermore, the accuracy level of the solution of up to two order of magnitude higher is obtained. The mesh expansion factor therefore contributes to a stable and highly accurate solution corresponding to all interested Peclet numbers

Applied Mathematics and Fractional Calculus

In the last three decades, fractional calculus has broken into the field of mathematical analysis, both at the theoretical level and at the level of its applications. In essence, the fractional calculus theory is a mathematical analysis tool applied to the study of integrals and derivatives of arbitrary order, which unifies and generalizes the classical notions of differentiation and integration. These fractional and derivative integrals, which until not many years ago had been used in purely mathematical contexts, have been revealed as instruments with great potential to model problems in various scientific fields, such as: fluid mechanics, viscoelasticity, physics, biology, chemistry, dynamical systems, signal processing or entropy theory. Since the differential and integral operators of fractional order are nonlinear operators, fractional calculus theory provides a tool for modeling physical processes, which in many cases is more useful than classical formulations. This is why the application of fractional calculus theory has become a focus of international academic research. This Special Issue "Applied Mathematics and Fractional Calculus" has published excellent research studies in the field of applied mathematics and fractional calculus, authored by many well-known mathematicians and scientists from diverse countries worldwide such as China, USA, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Iran, Tunisia, South Africa, Albania, Thailand, Iraq, Egypt, Italy, India, Russia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia