The space-time fractional diffusion equation with Caputo derivatives

We deal with the Cauchy problem for the space-time fractional diffusion equation, which is obtained from standard diffusion equation by replacing the second-order space derivative with a Caputo (or Riemann-Liouville) derivative of order β∈(0, 2] and the first-order time derivative with Caputo derivative of order α∈(0, 1]. The fundamental solution (Green function) for the Cauchy problem is investigated with respect to its scaling and similarity properties, starting from its Fourier-Laplace representation. We derive explicit expression of the Green function. The Green function also can be interpreted as a spatial probability density function evolving in time. We further explain the similarity property by discussing the scale-invariance of the space-time fractional diffusion equation.     

Analysis of the time fractional nonlinear diffusion equation from diffusion process

Under investigation in this paper is a time fractional nonlinear diffusion equation which can be utilized to express various diffusion processes. The symmetry of this considered equation has been obtained via fractional Lie group approach with the sense of Riemann-Liouville (R-L) fractional derivative. Based on the symmetry, this equation can be changed into an ordinary differential equation of fractional order. Moreover, some new invariant solutions of this considered equation are found. Lastly, utilising the Noether theorem and the general form of Noether type theorem, the conservation laws are yielded to the time fractional nonlinear diffusion equation, respectively. Our discovery that there are no conservation laws under the general form of Noether type theorem case. This result tells us the symmetry of this equation is not variational symmetry of the considered functional. These rich results can give us more information to interpret this equation.     

Detailed analysis of a conservative difference approximation for the time fractional diffusion equation

Diffusion equations that use time fractional derivatives are attractive because they describe a wealth of problems involving non-Markovian Random walks. The time fractional diffusion equation (TFDE) is obtained from the standard diffusion equation by replacing the first-order time derivative with a fractional derivative of order α? (0,1). Developing numerical methods for solving fractional partial differential equations is a new research field and the theoretical analysis of the numerical methods associated with them is not fully developed. In this paper an explicit conservative difference approximation (ECDA) for TFDE is proposed. We give a detailed analysis for this ECDA and generate discrete models of random walk suitable for simulating random variables whose spatial probability density evolves in time according to this fractional diffusion equation. The stability and convergence of the ECDA for TFDE in a bounded domain are discussed. Finally, some numerical examples are presented to show the application of the present technique.     

Inverse problem for a space‐time fractional diffusion equation: Application of fractional Sturm‐Liouville operator

An inverse problem of determining a time‐dependent source term from the total energy measurement of the system (the over‐specified condition) for a space‐time fractional diffusion equation is considered. The space‐time fractional diffusion equation is obtained from classical diffusion equation by replacing time derivative with fractional‐order time derivative and Sturm‐Liouville operator by fractional‐order Sturm‐Liouville operator. The existence and uniqueness results are proved by using eigenfunction expansion method. Several special cases are discussed, and particular examples are provided.     

Implicit difference approximation for the time fractional diffusion equation

In this paper, we consider a time fractional diffusion equation on a finite domain. The equation is obtained from the standard diffusion equation by replacing the first-order time derivative by a fractional derivative (of order 0 < α < 1 ). We propose a computationally effective implicit difference approximation to solve the time fractional diffusion equation. Stability and convergence of the method are discussed. We prove that the implicit difference approximation (IDA) is unconditionally stable, and the IDA is convergent withO(Τ +h ²), where Τ andh are time and space steps, respectively. Some numerical examples are presented to show the application of the present technique.     

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.     

Solving a final value fractional diffusion problem by boundary condition regularization

The evolution process of fractional order describes some phenomenon of anomalous diffusion and transport dynamics in complex system. The equation containing fractional derivatives provides a suitable mathematical model for describing such a process. The initial boundary value problem is hard to solve due to the nonlocal property of the fractional order derivative. We consider a final value problem in a bounded domain for fractional evolution process with respect to time, which means to recover the initial state for some slow diffusion process from its present status. For this ill-posed problem, we construct a regularizing solution using quasi-reversible method. The well-posedness of the regularizing solution as well as the convergence property is rigorously analyzed. The advantage of the proposed scheme is that the regularizing solution is of the explicit analytic solution and therefore is easy to be implemented. Numerical examples are presented to show the validity of the proposed scheme.     

An inverse problem for space‐fractional backward diffusion problem

In this paper, an inverse problem for space‐fractional backward diffusion equation, which is highly ill‐posed, is considered. This problem is obtained from the classical diffusion equation by replacing the second‐order space derivative with a Riesz–Feller derivative of order α ∈ (0,2]. We show that such a problem is severely ill‐posed, and further present a simplified Tikhonov regularization method to deal with this problem. Convergence estimate is presented under a priori choice of regularization parameter. Numerical experiments are given to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quenching phenomenon of a time‐fractional diffusion equation with singular source term

In this paper, a time‐fractional diffusion equation with singular source term is considered. The Caputo fractional derivative with order 0<α ?1 is applied to the temporal variable. Under specific initial and boundary conditions, we find that the time‐fractional diffusion equation presents quenching solution that is not globally well‐defined as time goes to infinity. The quenching time is estimated by using the eigenfunction of linear fractional diffusion equation. Moreover, by implementing a finite difference scheme, we give some numerical simulations to demonstrate the theoretical analysis. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient difference method for time-space fractional diffusion equation with Robin fractional derivative boundary condition

Numerical Algorithms - In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to solve the time-space fractional diffusion equation with Robin fractional derivative boundary condition. Under the weak...     

Analytical approximate solutions of Riesz fractional diffusion equation and Riesz fractional advection–dispersion equation involving nonlocal space fractional derivatives

In this paper, we consider the analytical solutions of fractional partial differential equations (PDEs) with Riesz space fractional derivatives on a finite domain. Here we considered two types of fractional PDEs with Riesz space fractional derivatives such as Riesz fractional diffusion equation (RFDE) and Riesz fractional advection–dispersion equation (RFADE). The RFDE is obtained from the standard diffusion equation by replacing the second‐order space derivative with the Riesz fractional derivative of order α∈(1,2]. The RFADE is obtained from the standard advection–dispersion equation by replacing the first‐order and second‐order space derivatives with the Riesz fractional derivatives of order β∈(0,1] and of order α∈(1,2] respectively. Here the analytic solutions of both the RFDE and RFADE are derived by using modified homotopy analysis method with Fourier transform. Then, we analyze the results by numerical simulations, which demonstrate the simplicity and effectiveness of the present method. Here the space fractional derivatives are defined as Riesz fractional derivatives. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On evolutionary equations with material laws containing fractional integrals

A well‐posedness result for a time‐shift invariant class of evolutionary operator equations involving material laws with fractional time‐integrals of order α ? ]0, 1[ is considered. The fractional derivatives are defined via a function calculus for the (time‐)derivative established as a normal operator in a suitable L² type space. Employing causality, we show that the fractional derivatives thus obtained coincide with the Riemann‐Liouville fractional derivative. We exemplify our results by applications to a fractional Fokker‐Planck equation, equations describing super‐diffusion and sub‐diffusion processes, and a Kelvin‐Voigt type model in fractional visco‐elasticity. Moreover, we elaborate a suitable perspective to deal with initial boundary value problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The dual reciprocity boundary elements method for the linear and nonlinear two‐dimensional time‐fractional partial differential equations

In this paper, we apply the dual reciprocity boundary elements method for the numerical solution of two‐dimensional linear and nonlinear time‐fractional modified anomalous subdiffusion equations and time‐fractional convection–diffusion equation. The fractional derivative of problems is described in the Riemann–Liouville and Caputo senses. We employ the linear radial basis function for interpolation of the nonlinear, inhomogeneous and time derivative terms. This method is improved by using a predictor–corrector scheme to overcome the nonlinearity which appears in the nonlinear problems under consideration. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed schemes are checked by five test problems. The proposed method is employed for solving some examples in two dimensions on unit square and also in complex regions to demonstrate the efficiency of the new technique. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An inverse problem for a family of two parameters time fractional diffusion equations with nonlocal boundary conditions

The determination of a space‐dependent source term along with the solution for a 1‐dimensional time fractional diffusion equation with nonlocal boundary conditions involving a parameter β>0 is considered. The fractional derivative is generalization of the Riemann‐Liouville and Caputo fractional derivatives usually known as Hilfer fractional derivative. We proved existence and uniqueness results for the solution of the inverse problem while over‐specified datum at 2 different time is given. The over‐specified datum at 2 time allows us to avoid initial condition in terms of fractional integral associated with Hilfer fractional derivative.     

A new regularization method for a Cauchy problem of the time fractional diffusion equation

In this paper, we consider a Cauchy problem of the time fractional diffusion equation (TFDE). Such problem is obtained from the classical diffusion equation by replacing the first-order time derivative by the Caputo fractional derivative of order α (0 < α ≤ 1). We show that the Cauchy problem of TFDE is severely ill-posed and further apply a new regularization method to solve it based on the solution given by the Fourier method. Convergence estimates in the interior and on the boundary of solution domain are obtained respectively under different a-priori bound assumptions for the exact solution and suitable choices of regularization parameters. Finally, numerical examples are given to show that the proposed numerical method is effective.     

Continuation theorem of fractional order evolutionary integral equations

The fractional order evolutionary integral equations have been considered by the first author in [6], the existence, uniqueness and some other properties of the solution have been proved. Here we study the continuation of the solution and its fractional order derivative. Also we study the generality of this problem and prove that the fractional order diffusion problem, the fractional order wave problem and the initial value problem of the equation of evolution are special cases of it. The abstract diffusion-wave problem will be given also as an application.     

A new Rabotnov fractional-exponential function-based fractional derivative for diffusion equation under external force

This work suggested a new generalized fractional derivative which is producing different kinds of singular and nonsingular fractional derivatives based on different types of kernels. Two new fractional derivatives, namely Yang-Gao-Tenreiro Machado-Baleanu and Yang-Abdel-Aty-Cattani based on the nonsingular kernels of normalized sinc function and Rabotnov fractional-exponential function are discussed. Further, we presented some interesting and new properties of both proposed fractional derivatives with some integral transform. The coupling of homotopy perturbation and Laplace transform method is implemented to find the analytical solution of the new Yang-Abdel-Aty-Cattani fractional diffusion equation which converges to the exact solution in term of Prabhaker function. The obtained results in this work are more accurate and proposed that the new Yang-Abdel-Aty-Cattani fractional derivative is an efficient tool for finding the solutions of other nonlinear problems arising in science and engineering.     

Analytic solution of a class of fractional differential equations with variable coefficients by operatorial methods

In this note we show the analytic solution of a class of fractional differential equations with variable coefficients by using operatorial methods. Taking inspiration from previous papers by Dattoli et al. [4], [5] and [6] about spectral properties of Laguerre derivative, we here generalize some of their results to fractional evolution equations. Besides that, we have two interesting generalized examples. One is about telegraph equation with time dependent coefficient. The other, that could be of some interest for realistic applications, is the fractional diffusion with a space-dependent diffusion coefficient.     

A physical interpretation for the fractional derivative in Levy diffusion

To the authors' knowledge, previous derivations of the fractional diffusion equation are based on stochastic principles [1], with the result that physical interpretation of the resulting fractional derivatives has been elusive [2]. Herein, we develop a fractional flux law relating solute flux at a given point to what might be called the complete (two-sided) fractional derivative of the concentration distribution at the same point. The fractional derivative itself is then identified as a typical superposition integral over the spatial domain of the Levy diffusion process. While this interpretation does not obviously generalize to all applications, it does point toward the search for superposition principles when attempting to give physical meaning to fractional derivatives.     

A new reliable algorithm based on the sinc function for the time fractional diffusion equation

This paper deals with the numerical solution of time fractional diffusion equation. In this work, we consider the fractional derivative in the sense of Riemann-Liouville. At first, the time fractional derivative is discretized by integrating both sides of the equation with respect to the time variable and we arrive at a semi–discrete scheme. The stability and convergence of time discretized scheme are proven by using the energy method. Also we show that the convergence order of this scheme is O(τ2?α). Then we use the sinc collocation method to approximate the solution of semi–discrete scheme and show that the problem is reduced to a Sylvester matrix equation. Besides by performing some theorems, the exponential convergence rate of sinc method is illustrated. The numerical experiments are presented to show the excellent behavior and high accuracy of the proposed hybrid method in comparison with some other well known methods.