Generalized polar coordinates on Lie groups and numerical integrators (Q849057)

Lie group methods for the integration of differential equations are constructed by composing Lie group actions on a manifold. A family of numerical integrators for Lie groups, based on local coordinates, was presented by \textit{K. Engø} [BIT 40, No. 1, 41--61 (2000; Zbl 0955.65047)]. These methods are based on a local coordinate map \(\Phi\) from a Lie algebra to a Lie group and the inverse tangent map of \(\Phi\). In the paper under review, these two maps are considered. The authors introduce a family of local coordinates on Lie groups, the so-called generalized polar coordinates. Fast algorithms are derived for the computation of the coordinate maps, the tangent maps, and the inverse tangent maps. Algorithms for all classical matrix groups are discussed. Numerical examples are given too.