Discretization of partial differential equations preserving their physical symmetries

F Valiquette, P Winternitz
2005 Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General  
A procedure for obtaining a "minimal" discretization of a partial differential equation, preserving all of its Lie point symmetries is presented. "Minimal" in this case means that the differential equation is replaced by a partial difference scheme involving N difference equations, where N is the number of independent and dependent variable. We restrict to one scalar function of two independent variables. As examples, invariant discretizations of the heat, Burgers and Korteweg-de Vries
more » ... are presented. Some exact solutions of the discrete schemes are obtained.
doi:10.1088/0305-4470/38/45/004 fatcat:nlelvwrnobfbxlzwx2syv3fnhi