A new fully discrete finite difference/element approximation for fractional cable equation (Q330388)

This paper focuses on the approximation of the time-fractional cable equation. The finite element method is used for spatial approximation and the finite difference method is used for time approximation by the Crank-Nicholson scheme. A new formula is proposed for an approximation of fractional derivatives at time \(t_{n+1}\), which lead to appearance of new coefficients compared to the \(L_1\)-formula. Based on the new approximate formula, the stability and error estimate are shown. The optimal convergence rate of order \(O(\tau^{1 + \min (\alpha_1 , \alpha_2 )} + h^{r +1} )\) is obtained. Numerical examples in one-dimensional and two-dimensional spaces are shown to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the studied algorithm.