Numerical methods for time-fractional evolution equations with nonsmooth data: a concise overview

Over the past few decades, there has been substantial interest in evolution equations that involving a fractional-order derivative of order $\alpha\in(0,1)$ in time, due to their many successful applications in engineering, physics, biology and finance. Thus, it is of paramount importance to develop and to analyze efficient and accurate numerical methods for reliably simulating such models, and the literature on the topic is vast and fast growing. The present paper gives a concise overview on numerical schemes for the subdiffusion model with nonsmooth problem data, which are important for the numerical analysis of many problems arising in optimal control, inverse problems and stochastic analysis. We focus on the following aspects of the subdiffusion model: regularity theory, Galerkin finite element discretization in space, time-stepping schemes (including convolution quadrature and L1 type schemes), and space-time variational formulations, and compare the results with that for standard parabolic problems. Further, these aspects are showcased with illustrative numerical experiments and complemented with perspectives and pointers to relevant literature.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

Differential quadrature method for space-fractional diffusion equations on 2D irregular domains

In mathematical physics, the space-fractional diffusion equations are of particular interest in the studies of physical phenomena modelled by L\'{e}vy processes, which are sometimes called super-diffusion equations. In this article, we develop the differential quadrature (DQ) methods for solving the 2D space-fractional diffusion equations on irregular domains. The methods in presence reduce the original equation into a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by introducing valid DQ formulations to fractional directional derivatives based on the functional values at scattered nodal points on problem domain. The required weighted coefficients are calculated by using radial basis functions (RBFs) as trial functions, and the resultant ODEs are discretized by the Crank-Nicolson scheme. The main advantages of our methods lie in their flexibility and applicability to arbitrary domains. A series of illustrated examples are finally provided to support these points.Comment: 25 pages, 25 figures, 7 table

Equivalence between a time-fractional and an integer-order gradient flow: The memory effect reflected in the energy

Time-fractional partial differential equations are nonlocal in time and show an innate memory effect. In this work, we propose an augmented energy functional which includes the history of the solution. Further, we prove the equivalence of a time-fractional gradient flow problem to an integer-order one based on our new energy. This equivalence guarantees the dissipating character of the augmented energy. The state function of the integer-order gradient flow acts on an extended domain similar to the Caffarelli-Silvestre extension for the fractional Laplacian. Additionally, we apply a numerical scheme for solving time-fractional gradient flows, which is based on kernel compressing methods. We illustrate the behavior of the original and augmented energy in the case of the Ginzburg-Landau energy functional

Wavelet Methods for the Solutions of Partial and Fractional Differential Equations Arising in Physical Problems

The subject of fractional calculus has gained considerable popularity and importance during the past three decades or so, mainly due to its demonstrated applications in numerous seemingly diverse and widespread fields of science and engineering. It deals with derivatives and integrals of arbitrary orders. The fractional derivative has been occurring in many physical problems, such as frequency-dependent damping behavior of materials, motion of a large thin plate in a Newtonian fluid, creep and relaxation functions for viscoelastic materials, the PI D controller for the control of dynamical systems etc. Phenomena in electromagnetics, acoustics, viscoelasticity, electrochemistry, control theory, neutron point kinetic model, anomalous diffusion, Brownian motion, signal and image processing, fluid dynamics and material science are well described by differential equations of fractional order. Generally, nonlinear partial differential equations of fractional order are difficult to solve. So for the last few decades, a great deal of attention has been directed towards the solution (both exact and numerical) of these problems. The aim of this dissertation is to present an extensive study of different wavelet methods for obtaining numerical solutions of mathematical problems occurring in disciplines of science and engineering. This present work also provides a comprehensive foundation of different wavelet methods comprising Haar wavelet method, Legendre wavelet method, Legendre multi-wavelet methods, Chebyshev wavelet method, Hermite wavelet method and Petrov-Galerkin method. The intension is to examine the accuracy of various wavelet methods and their efficiency for solving nonlinear fractional differential equations. With the widespread applications of wavelet methods for solving difficult problems in diverse fields of science and engineering such as wave propagation, data compression, image processing, pattern recognition, computer graphics and in medical technology, these methods have been implemented to develop accurate and fast algorithms for solving integral, differential and integro-differential equations, especially those whose solutions are highly localized in position and scale. The main feature of wavelets is its ability to convert the given differential and integral equations to a system of linear or nonlinear algebraic equations, which can be solved by numerical methods. Therefore, our main focus in the present work is to analyze the application of wavelet based transform methods for solving the problem of fractional order partial differential equations. The introductory concept of wavelet, wavelet transform and multi-resolution analysis (MRA) have been discussed in the preliminary chapter. The basic idea of various analytical and numerical methods viz. Variational Iteration Method (VIM), Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM), Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM), First Integral Method (FIM), Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM), Haar Wavelet Method, Legendre Wavelet Method, Chebyshev Wavelet Method and Hermite Wavelet Method have been presented in chapter 1. In chapter 2, we have considered both analytical and numerical approach for solving some particular nonlinear partial differential equations like Burgers’ equation, modified Burgers’ equation, Huxley equation, Burgers-Huxley equation and modified KdV equation, which have a wide variety of applications in physical models. Variational Iteration Method and Haar wavelet Method are applied to obtain the analytical and numerical approximate solution of Huxley and Burgers-Huxley equations. Comparisons between analytical solution and numerical solution have been cited in tables and also graphically. The Haar wavelet method has also been applied to solve Burgers’, modified Burgers’, and modified KdV equations numerically. The results thus obtained are compared with exact solutions as well as solutions available in open literature. Error of collocation method has been presented in this chapter. Methods like Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM) are very powerful and efficient techniques for solving nonlinear PDEs. Using these methods, many functional equations such as ordinary, partial differential equations and integral equations have been solved. We have implemented HPM and OHAM in chapter 3, in order to obtain the analytical approximate solutions of system of nonlinear partial differential equation viz. the Boussinesq-Burgers’ equations. Also, the Haar wavelet method has been applied to obtain the numerical solution of BoussinesqBurgers’ equations. Also, the convergence of HPM and OHAM has been discussed in this chapter. The mathematical modeling and simulation of systems and processes, based on the description of their properties in terms of fractional derivatives, naturally leads to differential equations of fractional order and the necessity to solve such equations. The mathematical preliminaries of fractional calculus, definitions and theorems have been presented in chapter 4. Next, in this chapter, the Haar wavelet method has been analyzed for solving fractional differential equations. The time-fractional Burgers-Fisher, generalized Fisher type equations, nonlinear time- and space-fractional Fokker-Planck equations have been solved by using two-dimensional Haar wavelet method. The obtained results are compared with the Optimal Homotopy Asymptotic Method (OHAM), the exact solutions and the results available in open literature. Comparison of obtained results with OHAM, Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM), VIM and Operational Tau Method (OTM) has been demonstrated in order to justify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed schemes. The convergence of two-dimensional Haar wavelet technique has been provided at the end of this chapter. In chapter 5, the fractional differential equations such as KdV-Burger-Kuramoto (KBK) equation, seventh order KdV (sKdV) equation and Kaup-Kupershmidt (KK) equation have been solved by using two-dimensional Legendre wavelet and Legendre multi-wavelet methods. The main focus of this chapter is the application of two-dimensional Legendre wavelet technique for solving nonlinear fractional differential equations like timefractional KBK equation, time-fractional sKdV equation in order to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed wavelet method. Similarly in chapter 6, twodimensional Chebyshev wavelet method has been implemented to obtain the numerical solutions of the time-fractional Sawada-Kotera equation, fractional order Camassa-Holm equation and Riesz space-fractional sine-Gordon equations. The convergence analysis has been done for these wavelet methods. In chapter 7, the solitary wave solution of fractional modified Fornberg-Whitham equation has been attained by using first integral method and also the approximate solutions obtained by optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM) are compared with the exact solutions acquired by first integral method. Also, the Hermite wavelet method has been implemented to obtain approximate solutions of fractional modified Fornberg-Whitham equation. The Hermite wavelet method is implemented to system of nonlinear fractional differential equations viz. the fractional Jaulent-Miodek equations. Convergence of this wavelet methods has been discussed in this chapter. Chapter 8 emphasizes on the application of Petrov-Galerkin method for solving the fractional differential equations such as the fractional KdV-Burgers’ (KdVB) equation and the fractional Sharma-TassoOlver equation with a view to exhibit the capabilities of this method in handling nonlinear equation. The main objective of this chapter is to establish the efficiency and accuracy of Petrov-Galerkin method in solving fractional differential equtaions numerically by implementing a linear hat function as the trial function and a quintic B-spline function as the test function. Various wavelet methods have been successfully employed to numerous partial and fractional differential equations in order to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of these procedures. Analyzing the numerical results, it can be concluded that the wavelet methods provide worthy numerical solutions for both classical and fractional order partial differential equations. Finally, it is worthwhile to mention that the proposed wavelet methods are promising and powerful methods for solving fractional differential equations in mathematical physics. This work also aimed at, to make this subject popular and acceptable to engineering and science community to appreciate the universe of wonderful mathematics, which is in between classical integer order differentiation and integration, which till now is not much acknowledged, and is hidden from scientists and engineers. Therefore, our goal is to encourage the reader to appreciate the beauty as well as the usefulness of these numerical wavelet based techniques in the study of nonlinear physical system

Stochastic semi-Lagrangian micro–macro calculations of liquid crystalline solutions in complex flows

A general method for the simulation of complex flows of liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) using a stochastic semi-Lagrangian micro–macro method is introduced. The macroscopic part uses a spatial-temporal second order accurate semi-Lagrangian algorithm, where ideas from the finite element and natural element methods are mixed in order to compute average quantities. The microscopic part employs a stochastic interpretation of the Doi–Hess LCP model, which is discretized with a second order Richardson extrapolated Euler–Maruyama scheme. The new method is validated and tested using the benchmark problem of flow between rotating eccentric cylinders. In a decoupled analysis, a discussion on the sensibility of the scalar order parameter to the macroscopic flow is offered. For the coupled situation, the proposed method predicts disclinations at certain regions of the geometry, as well as an accentuated abatement of the flow as the strength of the micro–macro interaction increases. Further examples are provided at different Peclet and concentration numbers to gain insight on the behavior of complex flows of LCPs in the eccentric cylinder geometry. The generality and robustness of the method, as well as its accurate prediction of LCP behavior under complex flows are main features of the implementatio

New developments in Functional and Fractional Differential Equations and in Lie Symmetry

Delay, difference, functional, fractional, and partial differential equations have many applications in science and engineering. In this Special Issue, 29 experts co-authored 10 papers dealing with these subjects. A summary of the main points of these papers follows:Several oscillation conditions for a first-order linear differential equation with non-monotone delay are established in Oscillation Criteria for First Order Differential Equations with Non-Monotone Delays, whereas a sharp oscillation criterion using the notion of slowly varying functions is established in A Sharp Oscillation Criterion for a Linear Differential Equation with Variable Delay. The approximation of a linear autonomous differential equation with a small delay is considered in Approximation of a Linear Autonomous Differential Equation with Small Delay; the model of infection diseases by Marchuk is studied in Around the Model of Infection Disease: The Cauchy Matrix and Its Properties. Exact solutions to fractional-order Fokker–Planck equations are presented in New Exact Solutions and Conservation Laws to the Fractional-Order Fokker–Planck Equations, and a spectral collocation approach to solving a class of time-fractional stochastic heat equations driven by Brownian motion is constructed in A Collocation Approach for Solving Time-Fractional Stochastic Heat Equation Driven by an Additive Noise. A finite difference approximation method for a space fractional convection-diffusion model with variable coefficients is proposed in Finite Difference Approximation Method for a Space Fractional Convection–Diffusion Equation with Variable Coefficients; existence results for a nonlinear fractional difference equation with delay and impulses are established in On Nonlinear Fractional Difference Equation with Delay and Impulses. A complete Noether symmetry analysis of a generalized coupled Lane–Emden–Klein–Gordon–Fock system with central symmetry is provided in Oscillation Criteria for First Order Differential Equations with Non-Monotone Delays, and new soliton solutions of a fractional Jaulent soliton Miodek system via symmetry analysis are presented in New Soliton Solutions of Fractional Jaulent-Miodek System with Symmetry Analysis

Generalized averaged Gaussian quadrature and applications

A simple numerical method for constructing the optimal generalized averaged Gaussian quadrature formulas will be presented. These formulas exist in many cases in which real positive GaussKronrod formulas do not exist, and can be used as an adequate alternative in order to estimate the error of a Gaussian rule. We also investigate the conditions under which the optimal averaged Gaussian quadrature formulas and their truncated variants are internal