Status of the differential transformation method

Further to a recent controversy on whether the differential transformation method (DTM) for solving a differential equation is purely and solely the traditional Taylor series method, it is emphasized that the DTM is currently used, often only, as a technique for (analytically) calculating the power series of the solution (in terms of the initial value parameters). Sometimes, a piecewise analytic continuation process is implemented either in a numerical routine (e.g., within a shooting method) or in a semi-analytical procedure (e.g., to solve a boundary value problem). Emphasized also is the fact that, at the time of its invention, the currently-used basic ingredients of the DTM (that transform a differential equation into a difference equation of same order that is iteratively solvable) were already known for a long time by the "traditional"-Taylor-method users (notably in the elaboration of software packages --numerical routines-- for automatically solving ordinary differential equations). At now, the defenders of the DTM still ignore the, though much better developed, studies of the "traditional"-Taylor-method users who, in turn, seem to ignore similarly the existence of the DTM. The DTM has been given an apparent strong formalization (set on the same footing as the Fourier, Laplace or Mellin transformations). Though often used trivially, it is easily attainable and easily adaptable to different kinds of differentiation procedures. That has made it very attractive. Hence applications to various problems of the Taylor method, and more generally of the power series method (including noninteger powers) has been sketched. It seems that its potential has not been exploited as it could be. After a discussion on the reasons of the "misunderstandings" which have caused the controversy, the preceding topics are concretely illustrated.Comment: To appear in Applied Mathematics and Computation, 29 pages, references and further considerations adde

Existence and uniqueness of solutions to functional integro-differential fractional equations

Using a fixed point theorem in a Banach algebra, we prove an existence result for a fractional functional differential equation in the Riemann- Liouville sense. Dependence of solutions with respect to initial data and an uniqueness result are also obtained

Solutions to a class of nonlinear differential equations of fractional order

In this paper we investigate the formulation of a class of boundary value problems of fractional order with the Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative and integral-type boundary conditions. The existence of solutions is established by applying a fixed point theorem of Krasnosel'skii and Zabreiko for asymptotically linear mappings

Fractional Calculus and Special Functions with Applications

The study of fractional integrals and fractional derivatives has a long history, and they have many real-world applications because of their properties of interpolation between integer-order operators. This field includes classical fractional operators such as Riemann–Liouville, Weyl, Caputo, and Grunwald–Letnikov; nevertheless, especially in the last two decades, many new operators have also appeared that often define using integrals with special functions in the kernel, such as Atangana–Baleanu, Prabhakar, Marichev–Saigo–Maeda, and the tempered fractional equation, as well as their extended or multivariable forms. These have been intensively studied because they can also be useful in modelling and analysing real-world processes, due to their different properties and behaviours from those of the classical cases.Special functions, such as Mittag–Leffler functions, hypergeometric functions, Fox's H-functions, Wright functions, and Bessel and hyper-Bessel functions, also have important connections with fractional calculus. Some of them, such as the Mittag–Leffler function and its generalisations, appear naturally as solutions of fractional differential equations. Furthermore, many interesting relationships between different special functions are found by using the operators of fractional calculus. Certain special functions have also been applied to analyse the qualitative properties of fractional differential equations, e.g., the concept of Mittag–Leffler stability.The aim of this reprint is to explore and highlight the diverse connections between fractional calculus and special functions, and their associated applications

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

An Approximated Solutions for nth Order Linear Delay Integro-Differential Equations of Convolution Type Using B-Spline Functions and Weddle Method

The paper is devoted to solve nth order linear delay integro-differential equations of convolution type (DIDE's-CT) using collocation method with the aid of B-spline functions. A new algorithm with the aid of Matlab language is derived to treat numerically three types (retarded, neutral and mixed) of nth order linear DIDE's-CT using B-spline functions and Weddle rule for calculating the required integrals for these equations. Comparison between approximated and exact results has been given in test examples with suitable graphing for every example for solving three types of linear DIDE's-CT of different orders for conciliated the accuracy of the results of the proposed method