An Efficient Exponential Sum Approximation of Power-Law Kernels for Solving Fractional Differential Equation

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Hauptverfasser: Chaudhary, Renu, Diethelm, Kai, Farhadi, Afshin, Fuchs, Fred A.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Chaudhary, Renu
Diethelm, Kai
Farhadi, Afshin
Fuchs, Fred A.
author_facet Chaudhary, Renu
Diethelm, Kai
Farhadi, Afshin
Fuchs, Fred A.
contents In this work, we present a comprehensive framework for approximating the weakly singular power-law kernel $t^{α-1}$ of fractional integral and differential operators, where $α\in (0,1)$ and $t \in [δ,T]$ with $0<δ<T<\infty$, using a finite sum of exponentials. This approximation method begins by substituting an exponential function into the Laplace transform of the power function, followed by the application of the trapezoidal rule to approximate the resulting integral. To ensure computational feasibility, the integral limits are truncated, leading to a finite exponential sum representation of the kernel. In contrast to earlier approaches, we pre-specify the admitted computational cost (measured in terms of the number of exponentials) and minimize the approximation error. Furthermore, to reduce the computational cost while maintaining accuracy, we present a two-stage algorithm based on Prony's method that compresses the exponential sum. The compressed kernel is then embedded into the Riemann-Liouville fractional integral and applied to solve fractional differential equations. To this end, we discuss two solution strategies, namely (a) method based on piecewise constant interpolation and (b) a transformation of the original fractional differential equation into a system of first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). This reformulation makes the problem solvable by standard ODE solvers with low computational cost while retaining the accuracy benefits of the exponential-sum-approximation. Finally, we apply the proposed strategies to solve some well-known fractional differential equations and demonstrate the advantages, accuracy, and the experimental order of convergence of the methods through numerical results.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_20311
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An Efficient Exponential Sum Approximation of Power-Law Kernels for Solving Fractional Differential Equation
Chaudhary, Renu
Diethelm, Kai
Farhadi, Afshin
Fuchs, Fred A.
Numerical Analysis
In this work, we present a comprehensive framework for approximating the weakly singular power-law kernel $t^{α-1}$ of fractional integral and differential operators, where $α\in (0,1)$ and $t \in [δ,T]$ with $0<δ<T<\infty$, using a finite sum of exponentials. This approximation method begins by substituting an exponential function into the Laplace transform of the power function, followed by the application of the trapezoidal rule to approximate the resulting integral. To ensure computational feasibility, the integral limits are truncated, leading to a finite exponential sum representation of the kernel. In contrast to earlier approaches, we pre-specify the admitted computational cost (measured in terms of the number of exponentials) and minimize the approximation error. Furthermore, to reduce the computational cost while maintaining accuracy, we present a two-stage algorithm based on Prony's method that compresses the exponential sum. The compressed kernel is then embedded into the Riemann-Liouville fractional integral and applied to solve fractional differential equations. To this end, we discuss two solution strategies, namely (a) method based on piecewise constant interpolation and (b) a transformation of the original fractional differential equation into a system of first-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). This reformulation makes the problem solvable by standard ODE solvers with low computational cost while retaining the accuracy benefits of the exponential-sum-approximation. Finally, we apply the proposed strategies to solve some well-known fractional differential equations and demonstrate the advantages, accuracy, and the experimental order of convergence of the methods through numerical results.
title An Efficient Exponential Sum Approximation of Power-Law Kernels for Solving Fractional Differential Equation
topic Numerical Analysis
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20311