On the numerical solution of involutive ordinary differential systems: Higher order methods (Q5952350)

A system of equations containing overdetermined ordinary differential equations and differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) as special cases is considered. Under the assumption that this system is involutive (which is comparable with an index 1 condition for DAEs), Runge-Kutta (RK) type methods up to order 4 are proved to have the same order as the classical versions. All maps and manifolds are assumed to be infinitely differentiable and the authors apply geometric tools for their investigations. The numerical implementation (on Maple V) of classical RK4, Fehlberg 4(5), and Dormand-Price 5(4) is briefly described. Three examples arising in astronomy and mechanics are discussed in detail.