Hyperviscous shock layers and diffusion zones: Monotonicity, spectral viscosity, and pseudospectral methods for very high order differential equations (Q1332397)

The author solves for arbitrary values of \(j\) on \(x\in [-\infty, \infty]\) two problems. The first is, to compute shock-like solutions to the ``hyperdiffusion equation'' \(u_t=(-1)^{j+1}u_{2j,x}\). The second is, to compute similar (tanh-like) solutions to the stationary form of the hyper-Burgers equation, \(uu_x+(-1)^ju_{2j,x}=0\). Here \(u_{2j,x}\) denotes the \(2j\)th derivative of \(u\) with respect to \(x\). The first problem is solved using a Fourier integral and the method of steepest descent, and the hyper-Burgers equation is solved by a Fourier pseudospectral method with a polynomial subtraction. Introducing artificial viscosity in the form of hyperviscosity \((j>1)\) has some advantages and is now very popular in geophysical modeling. The present author studies computational advantages and drawbacks of hyperviscosity when dealing with frontal zones or shocks. In particular, he studies how hyperviscosity alters the structure of a shock.