Numerically well formulated index-2 DAEs

Inmaculada Higueras, Roswitha März, Caren Tischendorf

Preprint series: Institut für Mathematik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (ISSN 0863-0976), 01-10

MSC 2000

65L80 Methods for differential-algebraic equations
65L06 Multistep, Runge-Kutta and extrapolation methods
Abstract

For linear index-2 DAEs with properly stated leading term we characterize contractive and dissipative flows. We study under which conditions the qualitative properties of the DAE solutions are reflected by the numerical approximations. This is the case if the discretisation and the decoupling processes commute. Commutativity is achieved if two subspaces associated with the index-2 DAE are constant; in this case we say that the index-2 DAE is numerically well formulated. If both subspaces are time dependent, the problem should be reformulated; in order to avoid numerically equivalent reformulations, a criterion is given. If only one of these subspaces is constant, the problem is in some sense close to a numerically well formulated one and thus depending on the problem context, no reformulations are needed. Contractive and dissipative flows induced by the DAE are characterized and results on qualitative properties of the numerical solution are given.

Keywords:differential algebraic equations, DAE, numerical integration methods,global stability, BDF, Runge-Kutta