Analytical approximations for a population growth model with fractional order

In this paper, we apply the homotopy analysis method (HAM) to solve the fractional Volterra’s model for population growth of a species in a closed system. This technique is extended to give solutions for nonlinear fractional integro–differential equations. The whole HAM solution procedure for nonlinear fractional differential equations is established. Further, the accurate analytical approximations are obtained for the first time, which are valid and convergent for all time t. This indicates the validity and great potential of the homotopy analysis method for solving nonlinear fractional integro–differential equations.     

Series Solutions of Systems of Nonlinear Fractional Differential Equations

Differential equations of fractional order appear in many applications in physics, chemistry and engineering. An effective and easy-to-use method for solving such equations is needed. In this paper, series solutions of the FDEs are presented using the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The HAM provides a convenient way of controlling the convergence region and rate of the series solution. It is confirmed that the HAM series solutions contain the Adomian decomposition method (ADM) solution as special cases.      

Numerical approach to differential equations of fractional order

In this paper, the variational iteration method and the Adomian decomposition method are implemented to give approximate solutions for linear and nonlinear systems of differential equations of fractional order. The two methods in applied mathematics can be used as alternative methods for obtaining analytic and approximate solutions for different types of differential equations. In these schemes, the solution takes the form of a convergent series with easily computable components. This paper presents a numerical comparison between the two methods for solving systems of fractional differential equations. Numerical results show that the two approaches are easy to implement and accurate when applied to differential equations of fractional order.     

Solving a system of nonlinear fractional partial differential equations using homotopy analysis method

In this article, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) has been employed to obtain solutions of a System of nonlinear fractional partial differential equations. This indicates the validity and great potential of the homotopy analysis method for solving system of fractional partial differential equations. The fractional derivative is described in the Caputo sense.     

Solving systems of ODEs by homotopy analysis method

This paper applies the homotopy analysis method (HAM) to systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The systems investigated include stiff systems, the chaotic Genesio system and the matrix Riccati-type differential equation. The HAM gives approximate analytical solutions which are of comparable accuracy to the seven- and eight-order Runge–Kutta method (RK78).     

Exact solutions for fractional DDEs via auxiliary equation method coupled with the fractional complex transform

Dynamical behavior of many nonlinear systems can be described by fractional‐order equations. This study is devoted to fractional differential–difference equations of rational type. Our focus is on the construction of exact solutions by means of the (G'/G)‐expansion method coupled with the so‐called fractional complex transform. The solution procedure is elucidated through two generalized time‐fractional differential–difference equations of rational type. As a result, three types of discrete solutions emerged: hyperbolic, trigonometric, and rational. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solving systems of fractional differential equations using differential transform method

This paper presents approximate analytical solutions for systems of fractional differential equations using the differential transform method. The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. The application of differential transform method, developed for differential equations of integer order, is extended to derive approximate analytical solutions of systems of fractional differential equations. The solutions of our model equations are calculated in the form of convergent series with easily computable components. Some examples are solved as illustrations, using symbolic computation. The numerical results show that the approach is easy to implement and accurate when applied to systems of fractional differential equations. The method introduces a promising tool for solving many linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations.     

Analysis of Fractional Differential Equations

We discuss existence, uniqueness, and structural stability of solutions of nonlinear differential equations of fractional order. The differential operators are taken in the Riemann-Liouville sense and the initial conditions are specified according to Caputo's suggestion, thus allowing for interpretation in a physically meaningful way. We investigate in particular the dependence of the solution on the order of the differential equation and on the initial condition, and we relate our results to the selection of appropriate numerical schemes for the solution of fractional differential equations.     

Approximate limit cycles of coupled nonlinear oscillators with fractional derivatives

In this paper, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) is presented to establish the accurate approximate analytical solutions for multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) coupled nonlinear oscillators with fractional derivatives. Approximate limit cycles (LCs) of two systems of the coupled fractional van der Pol (VDP) oscillators and the fractional damped Duffing resonator driven by a fractional VDP oscillator are exampled for illustrating the validity and great potential of the HAM. The presented approach can provide approximate LCs very accurately and efficiently compared with some direct simulation results. This method can keep high accuracy and efficiency for both weakly and strongly nonlinear problems with any given fractional order. Furthermore, it is capable of tracking unstable LCs which cannot be generated by some time-marching numerical algorithm. Based on the obtained results, we analyze effect of different fractional orders, coupling coefficient, and nonlinear coefficient of the coupled equations on amplitudes and frequencies of the LCs.     

Solitary wave solutions for a time-fraction generalized Hirota–Satsuma coupled KdV equation by an analytical technique

In this work, we implement a relatively analytical technique, the homotopy perturbation method (HPM), for solving nonlinear partial differential equations of fractional order. The fractional derivatives are described in Caputo derivatives. This method can be used as an alternative to obtain analytic and approximate solutions of different types of fractional differential equations which applied in engineering mathematics. The corresponding solutions of the integer order equations are found to follow as special cases of those of fractional order equations. He’s homotopy perturbation method (HPM) which does not need small parameter is implemented for solving the differential equations. It is predicted that HPM can be found widely applicable in engineering.     

On the utility of the homotopy analysis method for non-analytic and global solutions to nonlinear differential equations

In recent work on the area of approximation methods for the solution of nonlinear differential equations, it has been suggested that the so-called generalized Taylor series approach is equivalent to the homotopy analysis method (HAM). In the present paper, we demonstrate that such a view is only valid in very special cases, and in general, the HAM is far more robust. In particular, the equivalence is only valid when the solution is represented as a power series in the independent variable. As has been shown many times, alternative basis functions can greatly improve the error properties of homotopy solutions, and when the base functions are not polynomials or power functions, we no longer have that the generalized Taylor series approach is equivalent to the HAM. In particular, the HAM can be used to obtain solutions which are global (defined on the whole domain) rather than local (defined on some restriction of the domain). The HAM can also be used to obtain non-analytic solutions, which by their nature can not be expressed through the generalized Taylor series approach. We demonstrate these properties of the HAM by consideration of an example where the generalizes Taylor series must always have a finite radius of convergence (and hence limited applicability), while the homotopy solution is valid over the entire infinite domain. We then give a second example for which the exact solution is not analytic, and hence, it will not agree with the generalized Taylor series over the domain. Doing so, we show that the generalized Taylor series approach is not as robust as the HAM, and hence, the HAM is more general. Such results have important implications for how iterative solutions are calculated when approximating solutions to nonlinear differential equations.     

Nontrivial solutions for impulsive fractional differential systems through variational methods

Fractional differential equations (FDEs) as a generalization of ordinary differential equations and integration to arbitrary noninteger orders have gained importance due to their numerous applications in many fields of science and engineering. Indeed, there are a large number of phenomena, including fluid flow, diffusive transport akin to diffusion, rheology, probability, and electrical networks, that are modeled by different equations involving fractional order derivatives. This paper deals with multiplicity results of solutions for a class of impulsive fractional differential systems. The approach is based on variational methods and critical point theory. Indeed, we establish existence results for our system under some algebraic conditions on the nonlinear part with the classical Ambrosetti–Rabinowitz (AR) condition on the nonlinear and the impulsive terms. Moreover by combining two algebraic conditions on the nonlinear term, which guarantee the existence of two weak solutions, applying the mountain pass theorem, we establish the existence of third weak solution for our system.     

Short memory principle and a predictor–corrector approach for fractional differential equations

Fractional differential equations are increasingly used to model problems in acoustics and thermal systems, rheology and modelling of materials and mechanical systems, signal processing and systems identification, control and robotics, and other areas of application. This paper further analyses the underlying structure of fractional differential equations. From a new point of view, we apprehend the short memory principle of fractional calculus and farther apply a Adams-type predictor–corrector approach for the numerical solution of fractional differential equation. And the detailed error analysis is presented. Combining the short memory principle and the predictor–corrector approach, we gain a good numerical approximation of the true solution of fractional differential equation at reasonable computational cost. A numerical example is provided and compared with the exact analytical solution for illustrating the effectiveness of the short memory principle.     

Sine‐cosine wavelet method for fractional oscillator equations

Purpose In this article, a novel computational method is introduced for solving the fractional nonlinear oscillator differential equations on the semi‐infinite domain. The purpose of the proposed method is to get better and more accurate results. Design/methodology/approach The proposed method is the combination of the sine‐cosine wavelets and Picard technique. The operational matrices of fractional‐order integration for sine‐cosine wavelets are derived and constructed. Picard technique is used to convert the fractional nonlinear oscillator equations into a sequence of discrete fractional linear differential equations. Operational matrices of sine‐cosine wavelets are utilized to transformed the obtained sequence of discrete equations into the systems of algebraic equations and the solutions of algebraic systems lead to the solution of fractional nonlinear oscillator equations. Findings The convergence and supporting analysis of the method are investigated. The operational matrices contains many zero entries, which lead to the high efficiency of the method, and reasonable accuracy is achieved even with less number of collocation points. Our results are in good agreement with exact solutions and more accurate as compared with homotopy perturbation method, variational iteration method, and Adomian decomposition method. Originality/value Many engineers can utilize the presented method for solving their nonlinear fractional models.     

Solving nonlinear fractional partial differential equations using the homotopy analysis method

In this article, the homotopy analysis method is applied to solve nonlinear fractional partial differential equations. On the basis of the homotopy analysis method, a scheme is developed to obtain the approximate solution of the fractional KdV, K(2,2), Burgers, BBM‐Burgers, cubic Boussinesq, coupled KdV, and Boussinesq‐like B(m,n) equations with initial conditions, which are introduced by replacing some integer‐order time derivatives by fractional derivatives. The homotopy analysis method for partial differential equations of integer‐order is directly extended to derive explicit and numerical solutions of the fractional partial differential equations. The solutions of the studied models are calculated in the form of convergent series with easily computable components. The results of applying this procedure to the studied cases show the high accuracy and efficiency of the new technique. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2010     

Fractional partial differential equations and modified Riemann-Liouville derivative new methods for solution

The paper deals with the solution of some fractional partial differential equations obtained by substituting modified Riemann-Liouville derivatives for the customary derivatives. This derivative is introduced to avoid using the so-called Caputo fractional derivative which, at the extreme, says that, if you want to get the first derivative of a function you must before have at hand its second derivative. Firstly, one gives a brief background on the fractional Taylor series of nondifferentiable functions and its consequence on the derivative chain rule. Then one considers linear fractional partial differential equations with constant coefficients, and one shows how, in some instances, one can obtain their solutions on by-passing the use of Fourier transform and/or Laplace transform. Later one develops a Lagrange method via characteristics for some linear fractional differential equations with nonconstant coefficients, and involving fractional derivatives of only one order. The key is the fractional Taylor series of non differentiable functionf(x + h) =E _α (h ^α D _x ^α )f(x).     

On the homotopy analysis method for backward/forward-backward stochastic differential equations

In this paper, an analytic approximation method for highly nonlinear equations, namely the homotopy analysis method (HAM), is employed to solve some backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs) and forward-backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs), including one with high dimensionality (up to 12 dimensions). By means of the HAM, convergent series solutions can be quickly obtained with high accuracy for a FBSDE in a 6-dimensional case, within less than 1 % CPU time used by a currently reported numerical method for the same case [34]. Especially, as dimensionality enlarges, the increase of computational complexity for the HAM is not as dramatic as this numerical method. All of these demonstrate the validity and high efficiency of the HAM for the backward/forward-backward stochastic differential equations in science, engineering, and finance.     

New explicit approximate solution of MHD viscoelastic boundary layer flow over stretching sheet

In this paper, the study the momentum and heat transfer characteristics in an incompressible electrically conducting non‐Newtonian boundary layer flow of a viscoelastic fluid over a stretching sheet. The partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer characteristics are converted into highly nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations. The resultant coupled highly nonlinear ordinary differential equations are solved by means of, homotopy analysis method (HAM) for constructing an approximate solution of heat transfer in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) viscoelastic boundary layer flow over a stretching sheet with non‐uniform heat source. The proposed method is a strong and easy to use analytic tool for nonlinear problems and does not need small parameters in the equations. The HAM solutions contain an auxiry parameter, which provides a convenient way of controlling the convergence region of series solutions. The results obtained here reveal that the proposed method is very effective and simple for solving nonlinear evolution equations. The method is straightforward and concise, and it can also be applied to other nonlinear evolution equations in physics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Similarity solutions to nonlinear heat conduction and Burgers/Korteweg–deVries fractional equations

We analyze self-similar solutions to a nonlinear fractional diffusion equation and fractional Burgers/Korteweg–deVries equation in one spatial variable. By using Lie-group scaling transformation, we determined the similarity solutions. After the introduction of the similarity variables, both problems are reduced to ordinary nonlinear fractional differential equations. In two special cases exact solutions to the ordinary fractional differential equation, which is derived from the diffusion equation, are presented. In several other cases the ordinary fractional differential equations are solved numerically, for several values of governing parameters. In formulating the numerical procedure, we use special representation of a fractional derivative that is recently obtained.