High-order symplectic partitioned Lie group methods (Q285442)

A systematic procedure is developed to construct variational integrators on the cotangent bundle \(T^*G\) of a Lie group \(G\) from Lie group methods on \(G\). The approach is worked out in detail when the equations of motion are derived from a Hamiltonian function, i.e., in the symplectic case, starting from two particular families of Lie group integrators: Runge-Kutta-Munthe-Kaas (RKMK) methods and Crouch-Grossman schemes. These integrators are called `partitioned' by analogy with the usual class of partitioned Runge-Kutta methods: the position on the Lie group is integrated by the Lie group method, whereas the momentum is advanced by some involved functions on the space \(\mathfrak{g}^*\). Both classes can be considered as different generalizations of symplectic partitioned Runge-Kutta methods and are able to reproduce them when the Lie group is abelian. An order theory is developed for variational methods based on RKMK schemes which allows the authors to show that there exist methods within this class of arbitrarily high order. With respect to variational integrators based on Crouch-Grossman schemes, it is shown that any order can be achieved by composition. The behavior of the new methods is illustrated in practice on a numerical example defined by a Hamiltonian system on the cotangent bundle of \(\mathrm{SO}(3)\).