Explicit time integration of the stiff chemical Langevin equations using computational singular perturbation

Abstract

A stable explicit time-scale splitting algorithm for stiff chemical Langevin equations (CLEs) is developed, based on the concept of computational singular perturbation. The drift term of the CLE is projected onto basis vectors that span the fast and slow subdomains. The corresponding fast modes exhaust quickly, in the mean sense, and the system state then evolves, with a mean drift controlled by slow modes, on a random manifold. The drift-driven time evolution of the state due to fast exhausted modes is modeled algebraically as an exponential decay process, while that due to slow drift modes and diffusional processes is integrated explicitly. This allows time integration step sizes much larger than those required by typical explicit numerical methods for stiff stochastic differential equations. The algorithm is motivated and discussed, and extensive numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate its accuracy and stability with a number of model systems.