Alternating group explicit method for the diffusion equation (Q1075027)

An alternating group explicit method is presented for the finite difference solution of the diffusion equation. The method uses stable asymmetric approximations to the partial differential equation which, when coupled in groups of two adjacent points on the grid, result in implicit equations which can be easily converted to explicit form. By judicious alternation of this strategy on the grid points of the domain an algorithm which possesses unconditional stability is obtained. This approach also results in more accurate solutions because of truncation error cancellations. The stability, consistency, convergence and truncation error of the method are discussed and the results of numerical experiments presented. Motivation for the study is for use on parallel computers.