Geometrically adaptive grids for stiff Cauchy problems

Abstract

A new method for automatic step size selection in the numerical integration of the Cauchy problem for ordinary differential equations is proposed. The method makes use of geometric characteristics (curvature and slope) of an integral curve. For grids generated by this method, a mesh refinement procedure is developed that makes it possible to apply the Richardson method and to obtain a posteriori asymptotically precise estimate for the error of the resulting solution (no such estimates are available for traditional step size selection algorithms). Accordingly, the proposed methods are more robust and accurate than previously known algorithms. They are especially efficient when applied to highly stiff problems, which is illustrated by numerical examples.