Numerical integration of \((2+1)\) dimensional PDEs for \(S^2\) valued functions (Q1268321)

The authors compare differential numerical methods of studying the time evolution of partial differential equations (PDEs) in the \((2+1)\)-dimensional \(S^2\) sigma model. They use three different methods to describe the fields: a unit length vector, the polar angles, and a complex field. For the time integration, they employ both a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method and the leapfrog method. For each formulation, they tackle the problems created by the field description and develop a stable method to solve the equations satisfied by the fields. They compare the results of all methods, focussing their attention on the accuracy of the results and the computing requirement.