Convergence of the Grünwald–Letnikov scheme for time-fractional diffusion

Using bivariate generating functions, we prove convergence of the Grünwald–Letnikov difference scheme for the fractional diffusion equation (in one space dimension) with and without central linear drift in the Fourier–Laplace domain as the space and time steps tend to zero in a well-scaled way. This implies convergence in distribution (weak convergence) of the discrete solution towards the probability of sojourn of a diffusing particle. The difference schemes allow also interpretation as discrete random walks. For fractional diffusion with central linear drift we show that in the Fourier–Laplace domain the limiting ordinary differential equation coincides with that for the solution of the corresponding diffusion equation.     

Some recent advances in theory and simulation of fractional diffusion processes

To offer an insight into the rapidly developing theory of fractional diffusion processes, we describe in some detail three topics of current interest: (i) the well-scaled passage to the limit from continuous time random walk under power law assumptions to space-time fractional diffusion, (ii) the asymptotic universality of the Mittag–Leffler waiting time law in time-fractional processes, (iii) our method of parametric subordination for generating particle trajectories.     

On the local time of random walk on the 2-dimensional comb

We study the path behaviour of general random walks, and that of their local times, on the 2-dimensional comb lattice C² that is obtained from Z² by removing all horizontal edges off the x-axis. We prove strong approximation results for such random walks and also for their local times. Concentrating mainly on the latter, we establish strong and weak limit theorems, including Strassen-type laws of the iterated logarithm, Hirsch-type laws, and weak convergence results in terms of functional convergence in distribution.     

Shift-coupling and a zero-one law for random walk in random environment

This paper discusses several aspects of shift-coupling for random walk in random environment.     

Cauchy problem for fractional diffusion equations

We consider an evolution equation with the regularized fractional derivative of an order α∈(0,1) with respect to the time variable, and a uniformly elliptic operator with variable coefficients acting in the spatial variables. Such equations describe diffusion on inhomogeneous fractals. A fundamental solution of the Cauchy problem is constructed and investigated.     

Heat-kernel estimates for random walk among random conductances with heavy tail

We study models of discrete-time, symmetric, Z^d${\mathbb{Z}}^d$-valued random walks in random environments, driven by a field of i.i.d. random nearest-neighbor conductances _ωxy∈[0,1]${\omega }_{xy}\in [0,1]$, with polynomial tail near 0 with exponent γ>0$\gamma >0$. We first prove for all d≥5$d\ge 5$ that the return probability shows an anomalous decay (non-Gaussian) that approaches (up to sub-polynomial terms) a random constant times n⁻²$n^{-2}$ when we push the power γ$\gamma$ to zero. In contrast, we prove that the heat-kernel decay is as close as we want, in a logarithmic sense, to the standard decay n^−d/2$n^{-d/2}$ for large values of the parameter γ$\gamma$.     

The profile of blowing-up solutions to a nonlinear system of fractional differential equations

We investigate the profile of the blowing-up solutions to the nonlinear nonlocal system (FDS):

     

A second-order accurate numerical method for a fractional wave equation

We study a generalized Crank–Nicolson scheme for the time discretization of a fractional wave equation, in combination with a space discretization by linear finite elements. The scheme uses a non-uniform grid in time to compensate for the singular behaviour of the exact solution at t = 0. With appropriate assumptions on the data and assuming that the spatial domain is convex or smooth, we show that the error is of order k ² + h ², where k and h are the parameters for the time and space meshes, respectively.     

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.     

Beyond the Poisson renewal process: A tutorial survey

After sketching the basic principles of renewal theory and recalling the classical Poisson process, we discuss two renewal processes characterized by waiting time laws with the same power asymptotics defined by special functions of Mittag–Leffler and of Wright type. We compare these three processes with each other.     

Fractional evolution Dirac-like equations: Some properties and a discrete Von Neumann-type analysis

A system of fractional evolution equations results from employing the tool of the Fractional Calculus and following the method used by Dirac to obtain his well-known equation from Klein–Gordon’s one. It represents a possible interpolation between Dirac and diffusion and wave equations in one space dimension.     

Loop-erased random walk on the Sierpinski gasket

In this paper the loop-erased random walk on the finite pre-Sierpiński gasket is studied. It is proved that the scaling limit exists and is a continuous process. It is also shown that the path of the limiting process is almost surely self-avoiding, while having Hausdorff dimension strictly greater than 1. The loop-erasing procedure proposed in this paper is formulated by erasing loops, in a sense, in descending order of size. It enables us to obtain exact recursion relations, making direct use of ‘self-similarity’ of a fractal structure, instead of the relation to the uniform spanning tree. This procedure is proved to be equivalent to the standard procedure of chronological loop-erasure.     

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.     

On multifractality and time subordination for continuous functions

Let Z:[0,1]→R be a continuous function. This paper relates to the existence of a decomposition of Z as Z=g○f, where g:[0,1]→R is a monofractal function with exponent 0<H<1 and f:[0,1]→[0,1] is a time subordinator, i.e. the integral of a positive Borel measure supported by [0,1]. An equivalent question consists of searching for a (multifractal) parametrization of Z which transforms Z into a monofractal function. We establish that such a decomposition can be found for a large class of functions which includes the usual examples of multifractal functions.We find an interesting relationship between self-similar functions and self-similar measures as an application of our results.Our theorems yield new insights in the understanding of the multifractal behaviour of functions, giving a significant role to the regularity analysis of Borel measures.     

The fast Fourier transform and the numerical solution of one-dimensional boundary integral equations

Summary Here we present a fully discretized projection method with Fourier series which is based on a modification of the fast Fourier transform. The method is applied to systems of integro-differential equations with the Cauchy kernel, boundary integral equations from the boundary element method and, more generally, to certain elliptic pseudodifferential equations on closed smooth curves. We use Gaussian quadratures on families of equidistant partitions combined with the fast Fourier transform. This yields an extremely accurate and fast numerical scheme. We present complete asymptotic error estimates including the quadrature errors. These are quasioptimal and of exponential order for analytic data. Numerical experiments for a scattering problem, the clamped plate and plane estatostatics confirm the theoretical convergence rates and show high accuracy.     

A mixed-step algorithm for the approximation of the stationary regime of a diffusion

In some recent papers, some procedures based on some weighted empirical measures related to decreasing-step Euler schemes have been investigated to approximate the stationary regime of a diffusion (possibly with jumps) for a class of functionals of the process. This method is efficient but needs the computation of the function at each step. To reduce the complexity of the procedure (especially for functionals), we propose in this paper to study a new scheme, called the mixed-step scheme, where we only keep some regularly time-spaced values of the Euler scheme. Our main result is that, when the coefficients of the diffusion are smooth enough, this alternative does not change the order of the rate of convergence of the procedure. We also investigate a Richardson–Romberg method to speed up the convergence and show that the variance of the original algorithm can be preserved under a uniqueness assumption for the invariant distribution of the “duplicated” diffusion, condition which is extensively discussed in the paper. Finally, we conclude by giving sufficient “asymptotic confluence” conditions for the existence of a smooth solution to a discrete version of the associated Poisson equation, condition which is required to ensure the rate of convergence results.     

On nonconvexity of the solution set of a system of linear interval equations

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for the solution set of a system of linear interval equations to be nonconvex and derive some consequences.     

Brownian motion and random walk perturbed at extrema

Let b _t be Brownian motion. We show there is a unique adapted process x _t which satisfies dx _t = db _t except when x _t is at a maximum or a minimum, when it receives a push, the magnitudes and directions of the pushes being the parameters of the process. For some ranges of the parameters this is already known. We show that if a random walk close to b _t is perturbed properly, its paths are close to those of x _t . Received: 15 October 1997 / Revised version: 18 May 1998