Dynamics in numerics: On two different finite difference schemes for ODEs (Q557701)

For a special type of ordinary differential equation (ODE), namely a Kolmogorov type differential equation which models the population growth of single species, the authors compare, from the viewpoint of dynamical systems, two finite difference schemes: Euler's scheme and the so called integral approximation scheme, both applied on the unbounded interval \([0,\infty)\). By developing some general formulas, they discuss the stability of the common equilibrium, the periodic doubling bifurcations and their stability and the chaos in the both schemes. By comparing these formulas and some numerical examples, the authors find that the Euler scheme is better than the integral approximation scheme in terms of the stepsize parameter. The results proved in this paper involve some concepts from dynamical systems, like: topological chaos, Schwarzian derivative, periodic orbit, scrambled set, etc.