Piecewise-linearized and linearized θ-methods for ordinary and partial differential equations

Initial- and boundary-value problems appear frequently in many branches of physics. In this paper, several numerical methods, based on linearization techniques, for solving these problems are reviewed. First, piecewise-linearized methods and linearized θ-methods are considered for the solution of initial-value problems in ordinary differential equations. Second, piecewise-linearized techniques for two-point boundary-value problems in ordinary differential equations are developed and used in conjunction with a shooting method. In order to overcome the lack of convergence associated with shooting, piecewise-linearized methods which provide piecewise analytical solutions and yield nonstandard finite difference schemes are presented. Third, methods of lines in either space or time for the solution of one-dimensional convection-reaction-diffusion problems that transform the original problem into an initial- or boundary-value one are reviewed. Methods of lines in time that result in boundary-value problems at each time step can be solved by means of the techniques described here, whereas methods of lines in space that yield initial-value problems and employ either piecewise-linearized techniques or linearized θ-methods in time are also developed. Finally, for multidimensional problems, approximate factorization methods are first used to transform the multidimensional problem into a sequence of one-dimensional ones which are then solved by means of the linearized and piecewise-linearized methods presented here.