Parallel and Sequential Methods for Ordinary Differential Equations

This is an up-to-date exposition of the current method of using numerical methods to solve ordinary differential equations in a parallel computing environment. Consideration is given to boundary value problems and partial differential equations.

This book presents an up-to-date exposition of the current `state of the art'' of numerical methods for solving ordinary differential equations in a parallel computing environment. Although the main focus is on problems of initial value type, consideration will also be given to boundary value problems and partial differential equations. Furthermore, because linear algebra is an important component of the solution of differential equations, a complete chapter is devoted to the parallel solution of linear systems of equations. In addition to presenting an overview of parallel computing in general, two chapters are devoted to a summary of existing sequential differential equation methods. The parallel techniques discussed include parallelism across the method, parallelism across the step, parallelism across the system, and dynamic iteration. The book concludes with a chapter on the behaviour of a parallel code based on waveform relaxation.This comprehensive book is unique in its content and provides a balance between theoretical and practical issues by providing general frameworks in which to study parallel methods.