A Galerkin approximation for the initial-value problem for linear second- order differential equations (Q759456)

An algorithm is given for the numerical solution of the problem mentioned in the title and spline hat functions form the approximating basis. The algorithm yields a direct method for solving second-order linear differential equations (as opposed to solving a first-order system) and compares favorably with other direct methods such as Störmer's method and Cowell's method (e.g. \textit{P. Henrici} [Discrete variable methods in ordinary differential equations (1962; Zbl 0112.349)]). This method can be applied to a wide variety of problems such as eigenvalue problems, control-theory problems, etc., and it is comparable to Runge-Kutta methods with half the function evaluations.