Symmetric schemes, time reversal symmetry and conservative methods for Hamiltonian systems (Q1300718)

The appropriateness of a multistep method for Hamiltonian systems of marginal stability is correlated to the time reversal symmetry (TRS) of the numerical solution. TRS is proved to be equivalent to the symmetry of the scheme, which in turn is proved to be equivalent to the conservation of quadratic forms properties. The analysis is carried out for boundary value methods. An illustrative example is given.