Numerical simulation for two-dimensional Riesz space fractional diffusion equations with a nonlinear reaction term

Abstract

Fractional differential equations have attracted considerable interest because of their ability to model anomalous transport phenomena. Space fractional diffusion equations with a nonlinear reaction term have been presented and used to model many problems of practical interest. In this paper, a two-dimensional Riesz space fractional diffusion equation with a nonlinear reaction term (2D-RSFDE-NRT) is considered. A novel alternating direction implicit method for the 2D-RSFDE-NRT with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions is proposed. The stability and convergence of the alternating direction implicit method are discussed. These numerical techniques are used for simulating a two-dimensional Riesz space fractional Fitzhugh-Nagumo model. Finally, a numerical example of a two-dimensional Riesz space fractional diffusion equation with an exact solution is given. The numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods. These methods and techniques can be extended in a straightforward method to three spatial dimensions, which will be the topic of our future research. © 2013 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien.