A third-order multirate Runge-Kutta scheme for finite volume solution of 3D time-dependent Maxwell's equations (Q782351)

In this paper, two third-order multirate schemes based on strong stability preserving Runge-Kutta (SSP-RK3) methods are tested for Maxwell's equations on unstructured tetrahedral meshes. The numerical solutions evolve on fine and coarse meshes with time steps satisfying a local stability condition, which improve the computational the efficiency of numerical simulations. The order conditions of the multirate schemes on linear problems show that the third-order extension of the scheme in [\textit{H. Tang} and \textit{G. Warnecke}, J. Comput. Math. 24, No. 2, 121--140 (2006; Zbl 1100.65071)] has only first-order accurate coupling and the scheme in [\textit{L. Liu} et al., J. Comput. Phys. 229, No. 19, 6874--6897 (2010; Zbl 1425.76224)] is third-order accurate for linear problems with three-stage third-order RK methods. Both schemes are implemented for the 3D time-domain Maxwell's equations with a third-order finite volume spatial approximation. Two strategies for local time-step distribution are compared. One is a traditional power of \(2\) base partition, and another one is based on a flexible time-step ratio and optimization algorithm. Both are flexible for 3D simulations in terms of local time-step partition, which allow higher speedup than for more expensive third-order approximations. Numerical results for 1D and 3D Maxwell's equations with both schemes confirm the theoretical results.