An error analysis is presented for explicit partitioned Runge-Kutta methods and multirate methods applied to conservation laws. The interfaces, across which different methods or time steps are used, lead to order reduction of the schemes. Along with cell-based decompositions, also flux-based decompositions are studied. In the latter case mass conservation is guaranteed, but it will be seen that the accuracy may deteriorate.

MSC:65L05 65L06 65L20 65M20 Keywords:Initial value problem Method of lines (MOL) Multistep methods Monotonicity Boundedness Strong-stability-preserving (SSP) a b s t r a c t One-leg multistep methods have some advantage over linear multistep methods with respect to storage of the past results. In this paper boundedness and monotonicity properties with arbitrary (semi-)norms or convex functionals are analyzed for such multistep methods. The maximal stepsize coefficient for boundedness and monotonicity of a one-leg method is the same as for the associated linear multistep method when arbitrary starting values are considered. It will be shown, however, that combinations of one-leg methods and Runge-Kutta starting procedures may give very different stepsize coefficients for monotonicity than the linear multistep methods with the same starting procedures. Detailed results are presented for explicit two-step methods.

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