Matrix displacement mappings in the numerical solution of functional and nonlinear differential equations with the tau method

Abstract

The use of matrix displacement mappings reduces most matrix operations required in the construction of an approximate solution of a functional or differential equation by means of Ortiz' formulation of the Tau method to index shifts. The coefficient vector of the approximate solution is defined implicitly by a very sparse system of linear algebraic equations. The contributions of the differential or functional operator, and of the supplementary conditions of the problem (initial, boundary, or multipoint conditions) are treated with a single and versatile procedure of remarkable simplicity, which can be easily implemented in a computer. We give two nontrivial examples on the application of this approach: the first is a nonlinear boundary value problem with a continuous locus of singular points and multiple solutions, where stiffness is present, the second is a functional differential equation arising in analytic number theory. In both cases we obtain results of nigh accuracy.