Diffman: an Object-Oriented MATLAB Toolbox for Solving Differential Equations on Manifolds
Applied Numerical Mathematics 39 (2001) 323–347 www.elsevier.com/locate/apnum DiffMan: An object-oriented MATLAB toolbox for solving differential equations on manifolds Kenth Engø a,∗,1, Arne Marthinsen b,2, Hans Z. Munthe-Kaas a,3 a Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway b Department of Mathematical Sciences, NTNU, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway Abstract We describe an object-oriented MATLAB toolbox for solving differential equations on manifolds. The software reflects recent development within the area of geometric integration. Through the use of elements from differential geometry, in particular Lie groups and homogeneous spaces, coordinate free formulations of numerical integrators are developed. The strict mathematical definitions and results are well suited for implementation in an object- oriented language, and, due to its simplicity, the authors have chosen MATLAB as the working environment. The basic ideas of DiffMan are presented, along with particular examples that illustrate the working of and the theory behind the software package. 2001 IMACS. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Geometric integration; Numerical integration of ordinary differential equations on manifolds; Numerical analysis; Lie groups; Lie algebras; Homogeneous spaces; Object-oriented programming; MATLAB; Free Lie algebras 1. Introduction DiffMan is an object-oriented MATLAB [24] toolbox designed to solve differential equations evolving on manifolds. The current version of the toolbox addresses primarily the solution of ordinary differential equations. The solution techniques implemented fall into the category of geometric integrators— a very active area of research during the last few years. The essence of geometric integration is to construct numerical methods that respect underlying constraints, for instance, the configuration space * Corresponding author.
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