Convergence analysis of the \textit{hp}-version spectral collocation method for a class of nonlinear variable-order fractional differential equations (Q822185)

The authors considered a nonlinear fractional initial value problem with a Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative and a variable-order fractional derivative. Existence and uniqueness of the exact solution were analyzed by using the Weissinger fixed point theorem and the Gronwall-Bellman lemma. An hp-version spectral collocation method was then developed for solving the nonlinear fractional initial value problem in numerical frames. In particular, the Legendre-Gauss interpolations were employed in the collocation method in order to conquer the influence of the nonlinear term and variable-order fractional derivative. The error estimates under the H1-norm for smooth solutions on arbitrary meshes and singular solutions on quasi-uniform meshes were derived. Result shows that the numerical method could achieve higher accuracy by refining the mesh and/or increasing the degree of the polynomial. Numerical results were given to support the theoretical conclusions.