Integrators on homogeneous spaces: isotropy choice and connections (Q330098)

The authors study numerical integrators of ordinary differential equations on homogeneous spaces for which spheres, affine spaces and hyperbolic spaces are some examples. An equivariant numerical integrator respects the built-in symmetry available in a homogeneous space. It is shown that equivariant isotropy choices in conjunction with equivariant Lie group integrators yield equivariant homogeneous space integrators. A description of Lie group integrators in terms of stage trees and motion maps is provided which, on the one hand presents a unified approach to known Lie group integrators and on the other, is used in showing that techniques including Rung-Kutta-Munthe-Kaas, Crouch-Grossman and commutator-free methods are equivariant. \textit{Connections} (namely, equivariant isotropy maps of order zero) are studied and for which explicit formulae are given in homogeneous spaces including Stiefel, Grassmannian, isospectral and polar decomposition manifolds. As a concluding result, it is shown that the space of matrices of fixed rank possesses no connection.