On the solution of hyperbolic two-dimensional fractional systems via discrete variational schemes of high order of accuracy (Q2423578)

The authors consider a two-dimensional damped fractional extension of the classical nonlinear two-dimensional damped wave equation. The considered problem has a nonlinear potential function. A space-fractional extension of the wave equation using Weyl fractional derivatives of orders in \((1,2)\) is considered. The problem has an associated positive energy functional when damping is not present, in which case the model is capable of preserving the energy throughout time. The energy of the system is dissipated in the damped case. A finite difference scheme is suggested. The scheme has fourth-order in space and second-order in time. Some associated discrete quantities are introduced to estimate the energy functional and it is shown that the numerical method is capable of conserving the discrete variational structure under the same conditions for which the continuous model is conservative. The positivity of the discrete energy of the problem is also discussed. Some numerical tests are presented to illustrate the agreement between the properties of the continuous problem and the numerical scheme.