Canonical Runge-Kutta-Nyström (RKN) methods for second order ordinary differential equations (Q1192160)

A second order differential equation system \(y'' = f(y)\) can be written in Hamiltonian form \(y' = \partial H(y,z)/\partial z\), \(z' = -\partial H(y,z)/\partial y\), with \(z = y'\) and \(H(y,z) = {1\over 2}z^ Tz-u(y)\), where \(\partial u/\partial y = f(y)\). For a Runge-Kutta-Nyström method given by \(g_ i = y_ 0 + hc_ iz_ 0 + h^ 2\sum^ s_{j=1}a_{ij}f(g_ j)\), \(i = 1,2,\dots,s\). \(y_ 1 = y_ 0+hz_ 0 + h^ 2\sum^ s_{j=1}\bar b_ jf(g_ j)\), \(z_ 1 = z_ 0 + h\sum^ s_{j=1}b_ jf(g_ j)\), to be canonical for this problem, it is sufficient that \(\bar b_ i = b_ i(1-c_ i)\), \(i = 1,2,\dots,s\) and that \(b_ ia_{ij} - b_ ja_{ji} = b_ i\bar b_ j - \bar b_ ib_ j\), \(i,j =1,2,\dots,s\). When these conditions are combined with the order constraints for Runge- Kutta-Nyström methods, an interesting type of simplification takes place. Examples of explicit 3-stage methods, satisfying these conditions for order 4 are derived, together with self-adjoint (implicit) 2-stage methods also of order 4.