In this paper we propose and analyze a fractional Jacobi-collocation spectral
method for the second kind Volterra integral equations (VIEs) with weakly
singular kernel (x−s)−μ,0<μ<1. First we develop a family of fractional
Jacobi polynomials, along with basic approximation results for some weighted
projection and interpolation operators defined in suitable weighted Sobolev
spaces. Then we construct an efficient fractional Jacobi-collocation spectral
method for the VIEs using the zeros of the new developed fractional Jacobi
polynomial. A detailed convergence analysis is carried out to derive error
estimates of the numerical solution in both L∞- and weighted
L2-norms. The main novelty of the paper is that the proposed method is
highly efficient for typical solutions that VIEs usually possess. Precisely, it
is proved that the exponential convergence rate can be achieved for solutions
which are smooth after the variable change x→x1/λ for a
suitable real number λ. Finally a series of numerical examples are
presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the method