W‐schemes in spectral methods for reaction‐diffusion equations

Abstract

We consider reaction‐diffusion equations, which are parabolic systems of partial differential equations. Assuming periodic boundary conditions in space, a multidimensional Fourier transform can be used. A spectral method yields an initial value problem of a stiff system of ordinary differential equations for time‐dependent Fourier coefficients. We investigate the application of Rosenbrock‐Wanner W‐schemes in the time integration of the ordinary differential equations including step size selection. Results of numerical computations are presented using a Turing system in two space dimensions.