Numerical Analysis Technical Reports

Department of Computer Science
University of Toronto

This site provides access to the Technical Reports of the Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing Group of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. The reports are listed from newest to oldest.

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 Title: A Survey of Numerical Methods for Lévy Markets Author: Michael Chiu Date: August 2014 Pages: 29 Note: M. Eng. Project, MIE Dept., University of Toronto File: Michael.Chiu.MEng.Project.pdf

Abstract:

The modeling of financial markets by Lévy proceses has become an active area of research during recent years. This has motivated an equal amount of, if not more, research activity into the necessary numerical methods. Due to the large body of work in this area, we focus our survey on fast numerical methods for Lévy markets. Particular emphasis is placed on grid-based methods.

 Title: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Pennation Angle Estimation for Human Skeletal Muscle Authors: Dongwoon Lee, Zhi Li, Qazi Zain Sohail, Ken Jackson, Eugene Fiume and Anne Agur Date: March 2014 (earlier draft July 2013) Pages: 15 Keywords: pennation angle; line of action; ultrasonography; digitization; cadaveric specimen Note: Published in the Journal of Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering An earlier version of this paper can be found here. File: Lee.PA.2014.pdf

Abstract:

Pennation angle (PA) is an important property of human skeletal muscle that plays a significant role in determining the force contribution of fascicles to skeletal movement. Two-dimensional (2D) ultrasonography is the most common approach to measure PA. However, in principle, it is challenging to infer knowledge of three-dimensional (3D) architecture from 2D assessment. Furthermore, architectural complexity and variation impose more difficulties on reliable and consistent quantification of PA. Thus, the purpose of our study is to provide accurate insight into the correspondence between 2D assessment and the underlying 3D architecture. To this end, a 3D method was developed to directly quantify PA based on 3D architectural data that were acquired from cadaveric specimens through dissection and digitization. Those data were then assessed two-dimensionally by simulating ultrasound imaging. To achieve consistency over intermuscular variation, our proposed 3D method is based on the geometric analysis of fascicle attachment. Comparative results show a wide range of differences (1.1% - 47.1%) between 2D and 3D measurements. That is, ultrasound can under- or over-estimate PA, depending on architecture.

 Title: A Highly Efficient Implementation on GPU Clusters of PDE-Based Pricing Methods for Path-Dependent Foreign Exchange Interest Rate Derivatives Authors: Duy Minh Dang, Christina Christara and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: Submitted March 2013, revised April 2013. Pages: 17 Keywords: Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) Swaps, Bermudan Cancelable, Partial Differential Equation (PDE), Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI), Finite Differences, Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), GPU Clusters, MPI, Parallel Computing Note: Published in Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 7975, 2013, pp.~107--126, Proceedings of The 13th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA 2013), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 24--27 June 2013. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We present a highly efficient parallelization of the computation of the price of exotic cross-currency interest rate derivatives with path-dependent features via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach. In particular, we focus on the parallel pricing on Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) clusters of long-dated foreign exchange (FX) interest rate derivatives, namely Power-Reverse Dual-Currency (PRDC) swaps with FX Target Redemption (FX-TARN) features under a three-factor model. Challenges in pricing these derivatives via a PDE approach arise from the high-dimensionality of the model PDE, as well as from path-dependency of the FX-TARN feature. The PDE pricing framework for FX-TARN PRDC swaps is based on partitioning the pricing problem into several independent pricing sub-problems over each time period of the swap's tenor structure, with possible communication at the end of the time period. Finite difference methods on non-uniform grids are used for the spatial discretization of the PDE, and the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) technique is employed for the time discretization. Our implementation of the pricing procedure on a GPU cluster involves (i) efficiently solving each independent sub-problems on a GPU via a parallelization of the ADI timestepping technique, and (ii) utilizing MPI for the communication between pricing processes at the end of the time period of the swap's tenor structure. Numerical results showing the efficiency of the parallel methods are provided.

 Title: Iterative Reconstruction Algorithms for Polyenergetic X-Ray Computerized Tomography Author: Nargol Rezvani Date: August 2012 Pages: 127 Note: PhD Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2012. File: Nargol.Rezvani.PhD.Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

A reconstruction algorithm in computerized tomography is a procedure for reconstructing the attenuation coefficientscient, a real-valued function associated with the object of interest, from the measured projection data. Generally speaking, reconstruction algorithms in CT fall into two categories: direct, e.g., filtered back-projection (FBP), or iterative. In this thesis, we discuss a new fast matrix-free iterative reconstruction method based on a polyenergetic model.

While most modern x-ray CT scanners rely on the well-known filtered back-projection algorithm, the corresponding reconstructions can be corrupted by beam hardening artifacts. These artifacts arise from the unrealistic physical assumption of monoenergetic x-ray beams. In this thesis, to compensate, we use an alternative model that accounts for differential absorption of polyenergetic x-ray photons and discretize it directly. We do not assume any prior knowledge about the physical properties of the scanned object. We study and implement different solvers and nonlinear unconstrained optimization methods, such as a Newton-like method and an extension of the Levenberg-Marquardt-Fletcher algorithm. We explain how we can use the structure of the Radon matrix and the properties of FBP to make our method matrix-free and fast. Finally, we discuss how we regularize our problem by applying different regularization methods, such as Tikhonov and regularization in the 1-norm. We present numerical reconstructions based on the associated nonlinear discrete formulation incorporating various iterative optimization methods.

 Title: An Efficient Numerical PDE Approach for Pricing Foreign Exchange Interest Rate Hybrid Derivatives Authors: Duy Minh Dang, Christina Christara, Kenneth R. Jackson and Asif Lakhany Date: March 2012; revised May 2013 Pages: 36 Keywords: Power-Reverse Dual-Currency (PRDC) swaps, Target Redemption (TARN), knockout, Partial Differential Equation (PDE), finite differences, non-uniform grids. Note: Accepted for publication by the Journal of Computational Finance File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We discuss efficient pricing methods via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach for long dated foreign exchange (FX) interest rate hybrids under a three-factor multi-currency pricing model with FX volatility skew. The emphasis of the paper is on Power-Reverse Dual-Currency (PRDC) swaps with popular exotic features, namely knockout and FX Target Redemption (FX-TARN). Challenges in pricing these derivatives via a PDE approach arise from the high-dimensionality of the model PDE, as well as from the complexities in handling the exotic features, especially in the case of the FX-TARN provision, due to its path-dependency. Our proposed PDE pricing framework for FX-TARN PRDC swaps is based on partitioning the pricing problem into several independent pricing sub-problems over each time period of the swap's tenor structure, with possible communication at the end of the time period. Each of these pricing sub-problems can be viewed as equivalent to a knockout PRDC swap with a known time-dependent barrier, and requires a solution of the model PDE, which, in our case, is a time-dependent parabolic PDE in three space dimensions. Finite difference schemes on non-uniform grids are used for the spatial discretization of the model PDE, and the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) timestepping methods are employed for its time discretization. Numerical examples illustrating the convergence properties and efficiency of the numerical methods are provided.

 Title: Accurate First-Order Sensitivity Analysis for Delay Differential Equations: Part1: The Forward Approach Authors: H. ZivariPiran and W.H. Enright Date: 2011 Pages: 22 Note: A revised version of this paper will appear in SIAM J. Sci. Comp., 2012. File: ZE_SISC.pdf

Abstract:

In this paper, we derive an equation governing the dynamics of first-order forward sensitivities for a general system of parametric neutral delay differential equations (NDDEs). We also derive a formula which identifies the size of jumps that appear at discontinuity points when the sensitivity equations are integrated. The formula leads to an algorithm which can compute sensitivities for various types of parameters very accurately and efficiently.

 Title: Improved Implementation of Multiple Shooting for BVPs Authors: Weidong Zhang Date: January, 2012 Pages: 26 Note: MSc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2012. File: Weidong_Zhang_Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

Boundary value problems arise in many applications, and shooting methods are one approach to approximate the solution of such problems.A Shooting method transforms a boundary value problem into a sequence of initial value problems,and takes the advantage of the speed and adaptivity of initial value problem solvers. The implementation of continuous Runge-Kutta methods with defect control for initial value problems gives efficient and reliable solutions. In this paper, we design and implement a boundary value solver that is based on a shooting method using a continuous Runge-Kutta method to solve the associated initial value problems.Numerical tests on a selection of problems show that this approach achieves better performance than another widely used existing shooting method.

 Title: Reducing the Uncertainty when Approximating the Solution of ODEs Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2012 Pages: 13 Note: A revised version of this paper will appear in proceedings of IFIP WG 2.5 Conference on Uncertainty Quantification, Boulder, August 2011. File: E_Boulder.pdf

Abstract:

One can reduce the uncertainty in the quality of an approximate solution of an ordinary differential equation (ODE) by implementing methods which have a rigorous error control strategy and which deliver an approximate solution that is much more likely to satisfy the expectations of the user. We have developed such a class of ODE methods as well as a collection of software tools that will deliver a piecewise polynomial as the approximate solution and facilitate the investigation of various aspects of the problem that are often of as much interest as the approximate solution itself. We will introduce measures that can be used to quantify the reliability of an approximate solution and discuss how one can implement methods that, at some extra cost, can produce very reliable approximate solutions and therefore significantly reduce the uncertainty in the computed results.

 Title: Superconvergent Interpolants for Collocation Methods applied to Volterra Integro-differential Equations with Delay Authors: M. Shakourifar and W.H. Enright Date: 2012 Pages: 16 Note: A revised version of this paper will appear in BIT 2012. File: SE_BIT.pdf

Abstract:

Standard software based on the collocation method for differential equations delivers a continuous approximation (called the collocation solution) which augments the high order discrete approximate solution that is provided at mesh points. This continuous approximation is less accurate than the discrete approximation. For 'non-standard' Volterra integro-differential equations with constant delay, that often arise in modeling predator-prey systems in Ecology, the collocation solution is $C^0$ continuous. The accuracy is $O(h^{s+1})$ at off-mesh points and $O(h^{2 s})$ at mesh points where $s$ is the number of Gauss points used per subinterval and $h$ refers to the stepsize. We will show how to construct $C^1$ interpolants with an accuracy at off-mesh points and mesh points of the same order ($2 s$). This implies that even for coarse mesh selections we achieve an accurate and smooth approximate solution. Specific schemes are presented for $s = 2, 3$, and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new interpolants.

 Title: Robust Estimation of PCSA and Geometric Reconstruction for Human Skeletal Muscle Authors: Dongwoon Lee, Kajeandra Ravichandiran, Ken Jackson, Eugene Fiume and Anne Agur Date: January, 2012 Pages: 10 Keywords: Skeletal muscle; Muscle Architecture; Computational Geometry; Digitization Note: To appear in the Journal of Biomechanics under a slightly different title: "Robust estimation of physiological cross-sectional area and geometric reconstruction for human skeletal muscle". File: Lee.JBM.2012.pdf

Abstract:

Understanding muscle architecture is crucial to determining the mechanical function of muscle during body movements, because architectural parameters directly correspond to muscle performance. Accurate parameters are thus essential for reliable simulation. Human cadaveric muscle specimen data provides the anatomical detail needed for in-depth understanding of muscle and accurate parameter estimation. However, as muscle generally has non-uniform architecture, parameter estimation, specifically, physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), is rarely straightforward. To deal ectively with this non-uniformity, we propose a geometric approach in which a polygon is sought to best approximate the cross-sectional area of each fascicle by accounting for its three-dimensional trajectory and arrangement in the muscle. Those polygons are then aggregated to determine PCSA and volume of muscle. Experiments are run using both synthetic data and muscle specimen data. From comparison of PCSA using synthetic data, we conclude that the proposed method enhances the robustness of PCSA estimation against variation in muscle architecture. Furthermore, we suggest reconstruction methods to extract 3D muscle geometry directly from fascicle data and estimated parameters using the level set method.

 Title: Parameter Estimation for ODEs using a Cross-Entropy Approach Authors: Bo Wang Date: January, 2012 Pages: 34 Note: MSc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2012. File: Bo_Wang_Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

Parameter Estimation for ODEs and DDEs is an important topic in numerical analysis. In this paper, we present a novel approach to address this inverse problem. Cross-entropy algorithms are general a lgorithm which can be applied to solve global optimization problems. The main steps of cross-entrop y methods are first to generate a set of trial samples from a certain distribution, then to update the distribution based on these generated sample trials. To overcome the prohibitive computation o f standard cross-entropy algorithms, we develop a modification combining local search techniques. T he modified cross-entropy algorithm can speed the convergence rate and improve the accuracy simulta neously. Two different coding schemes (continuous coding and discrete coding) are also introduced. Continuou s coding uses a truncated multivariate Gaussian to generate trial samples, while discrete coding re duces the search space to a finite (but dense) subset of the feasible parameter values and uses a B ernoulli distribution to generate the trial samples (which are fixed point approximation of the act ual parameters) . Extensive numerical and real experiments are conducted to illustrate the power an d advantages of the proposed methods. Compared to other existing state-of-the-art approaches on som e benchmark problems for parameter estimation, our methods have three main advantages: 1) They are robust to noise in the data to be fitted; 2) They are not sensitive to the number of observation po ints (in contrast to most existing approaches) ; 3) The modified versions exhibit faster convergenc e than the original versions, thus they are more efficient, without sacrificing accuracy.

 Title: Modeling Multi-Factor Financial Derivatives by a Partial Differential Equation Approach with Efficient Implementation on Graphics Processing Units Author: Duy Minh Dang Date: August 2011 Pages: 229 Note: PhD Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2011. File: Duy_Minh_Dang_PhD_Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

This thesis develops efficient modeling frameworks via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach for multi-factor financial derivatives, with emphasis on three-factor models, and studies highly efficient implementations of the numerical methods on novel high-performance computer architectures, with particular focus on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and multi-GPU platforms/clusters of GPUs. Two important classes of multi-factor financial instruments are considered: cross-currency/foreign exchange (FX) interest rate derivatives and multi-asset options.

For cross-currency interest rate derivatives, the focus of the thesis is on Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) swaps with three of the most popular exotic features, namely Bermudan cancelability, knockout, and FX Target Redemption. The modeling of PRDC swaps using one-factor Gaussian models for the domestic and foreign interest short rates, and a one-factor skew model for the spot FX rate results in a time-dependent parabolic PDE in three space dimensions. Our proposed PDE pricing framework is based on partitioning the pricing problem into several independent pricing subproblems over each time period of the swap's tenor structure, with possible communication at the end of the time period. Each of these subproblems requires a solution of the model PDE. We then develop a highly efficient GPU-based parallelization of the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) timestepping methods for solving the model PDE. To further handle the substantially increased computational requirements due to the exotic features, we extend the pricing procedures to multi-GPU platforms/clusters of GPUs to solve each of these independent subproblems on a separate GPU. Numerical results indicate that the proposed GPU-based parallel numerical methods are highly efficient and provide significant increase in performance over CPU-based methods when pricing PRDC swaps. An analysis of the impact of the FX volatility skew on the price of PRDC swaps is provided.

In the second part of the thesis, we develop efficient pricing algorithms for multi-asset options under the Black-Scholes-Merton framework, with strong emphasis on multi-asset American options. Our proposed pricing approach is built upon a combination of (i) a discrete penalty approach for the linear complementarity problem arising due to the free boundary and (ii) a GPU-based parallel ADI Approximate Factorization technique for the solution of the linear algebraic system arising from each penalty iteration. A timestep size selector implemented efficiently on GPUs is used to further increase the efficiency of the methods. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed GPU-based parallel numerical methods by pricing American options written on three assets.

 Title: Reliable Approximate Solution of Systems of Volterra Integro-differential Equations with Time-dependent Delays Authors: M. Shakourifar and W.H. Enright Date: 2011 Pages: 24 Note: A revised version of this paper appeared in SIAM J. Sci. Comp. 33, 1134-1158. File: SE_SISC.pdf

Abstract:

Volterra integro-differential equations with time-dependent delay arguments (DVIDEs) can provide us with realistic models of many real-world phenomena. Delayed Lokta-Volterra predator-prey systems arise in Ecology and are well-known examples of DVIDEs first introduced by Volterra in 1928. We investigate the numerical solution of systems of DVIDEs using an adaptive stepsize selection strategy. We will present a generic variable stepsize approach for solving systems of neutral DVIDEs based on an explicit continuous Runge-Kutta method using defect error control and study the convergence of the resulting numerical method for various kind of delay arguments. We will show that the global error of the numerical solution can be effectively and reliably controlled by monitoring the size of the defect of the approximate solution and adjusting the stepsize on each step of the integration. Numerical results will be presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.

 Title: Adaptive Time-Stepping for the Strong Numerical Solution of Stochastic Differential Equations Authors: Silvana Ilie, Kenneth R. Jackson and Wayne H. Enright Date: January 2014. Pages: 21 Keywords: stochastic differential equations, adaptive time-stepping, PI control, Milstein method, strong numerical approximation, commutative noise Note: Submitted to Numerical Algorithms File: SDE.Adaptive.Timestepping.NA.1.pdf

Abstract:

Models based on stochastic differential equations are of high interest today due to their many important practical applications. Thus the need for efficient and accurate numerical methods to approximate their solution. This paper focuses on the strong numerical solution of stochastic differential equations in Itô form, driven by multiple Wiener processes satisfying the commutativity condition. We introduce some adaptive time-stepping methods which allow arbitrary values of the stepsize. The explicit Milstein method is applied to approximate the solution of the problem and the adaptive implementations are based on a measure of the local error. Numerical tests on several models arising in applications show that our adaptive time-stepping schemes perform better than the fixed stepsize and the existing adaptive Brownian tree methods.

 Title: Calibration of Multi-Period Single-Factor Gaussian Copula Models for CDO Pricing Author: Max S. Kaznady Date: April, 2011 Pages: 163 Note: MSc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2011. File: Max_S_Kaznady_MSc_thesis_April_2011.pdf

Abstract:

A Collaterized Debt Obligation (CDO) is a multi-name credit derivative, which redistributes the risk of defaults in a collection (also known as the basket or pool) of underlying assets, into fixed income securities, known as the tranches. Each tranche is associated with a certain fraction of first-to-default underlyings. Synthetic CDOs have a pool that consists of Credit Default Swaps (CDSs). If all CDSs have equal notionals, then the pool is termed homogeneous.

Single-period single-factor copula models approximate the probability of underlying defaults using a percentile to percentile transformation, and incorporate the underlying pool correlation structure for multi-name credit derivatives, such as CDOs. Currently, such models are static in time and do not calibrate consistently against market quotes. Recently Jackson, Kreinin and Zhang (JKZ) proposed a discrete-time Multi-period Single-factor Copula Model (MSCM), for which the default correlations are time-independent, allowing the model to systematically fit the market quotes. For homogeneous pools, the JKZ MSCM provides a chaining technique, which avoids expensive Monte Carlo simulation, previously used by other multi-period copula models.

However, even for homogeneous pools, the tree-based example of MSCM presented by JKZ has three drawbacks: derivatives are difficult to obtain for calibration, probabilities of the copula correlation parameter paths do not accurately represent its movements, and the model is not extremely parsimonious.

In this thesis, we develop an improved implementation of MSCM: we use an alternative multi-path parameterization of the copula correlation parameter paths and the corresponding probabilities. This allows us to calculate first-order derivatives for the MSCM in closed form for a reasonable range of parameter values, and to vary the number of parameters used by the model. We also develop and implement a practical error control heuristic for the error in the pool loss probabilities and their derivatives. We develop theoretical error bounds for the pool loss probabilities as well. We also explore a variety of optimization algorithms and demonstrate that the improved MSCM is inexpensive to calibrate. In addition, we show how MSCM calibrates to CDO data for periods before, during and after the September 2008 stock market crash.

 Title: An Efficient GPU-Based Parallel Algorithm for Pricing Multi-Asset American Options Authors: Duy Minh Dang, Christina C. Christara and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: March 2011 Pages: 14 Keywords: American Option, Multi-Asset, Penalty Method, Alternating Direction Implicit Approximate Factorization (ADI-AF), Graphics Processing Units, GPUs, Parallel Computing, Finite Difference Note: A revised version of this paper (with a slightly different title) appeared in the Journal of Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience (JCCPE) special issue on high-performance computational finance, Vol. 24, No. 8, June 2012, pp. 849-866. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We develop highly-efficient parallel Partial Differential Equation (PDE) based pricing methods on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for multi-asset American options. Our pricing approach is built upon a combination of a discrete penalty approach for the linear complementarity problem arising due to the free boundary and a GPU-based parallel Alternating Direction Implicit Approximate Factorization technique with finite differences on uniform grids for the solution of the linear algebraic system arising from each penalty iteration. A timestep size selector implemented efficiently on GPUs is used to further increase the efficiency of the methods. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the parallel numerical methods by pricing American options written on three assets.

 Title: Pricing Multi-Asset American Options on Graphics Processing Units Using a PDE Approach Authors: Duy Minh Dang, Christina C. Christara and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: September 2010 Pages: 8 Keywords: American Option, Multi-Asset, Penalty Method, Alternating Direction Implicit Approximate Factorization (ADI-AF), Graphics Processing Units, GPUs, Parallel Computing, Finite Difference Note: Proceedings of the Third Workshop on High Performance Computational Finance at SC10, The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis, sponsored by ACM/IEEE, New Orleans, USA, 13-19 November 2010. File: DOI:10.1109/WHPCF.2010.5671831 link to pdf file in ieeexplore

Abstract:

We develop highly efficient parallel pricing methods on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for multi-asset American options via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach. The linear complementarity problem arising due to the free boundary is handled by a penalty method. Finite difference methods on uniform grids are considered for the space discretization of the PDE, while classical finite differences, such as Crank-Nicolson, are used for the time discretization. The discrete nonlinear penalized equations at each timestep are solved using a penalty iteration. A GPU-based parallel Alternating Direction Implicit Approximate Factorization technique is employed for the solution of the linear algebraic system arising from each penalty iteration. We demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the parallel numerical methods by pricing American options written on three assets.

 Title: Energy-Based Error Control Strategies Suitable for Long MD Simulations Authors: Kante Easley Date: August, 2010 Pages: 51 Note: MSc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2010. File: Kante_Easley_Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

When evaluating integration schemes used in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, energy conservation is often cited as the primary criterion by which the integrators should be compared. As a result variable stepsize Runge-Kutta methods are often ruled out of consideration due to their characteristic energy drift. We have shown that by appropriately modifying the stepsize selection strategy in a variable-stepsize RK method it is possible for the MD practitioner to obtain substantial control over the energy drift during the course of a simulation. This ability has been previously unreported in the literature, and can be achieved without sacrificing computational efficiency under currently obtainable timescales. We present Numerical examples to confirm this.

 Title: A PDE pricing framework for cross-currency interest rate derivatives with Target Redemption features Authors: Christina C. Christara, Duy Minh Dang, Kenneth R. Jackson, and Asif Lakhany Date: July 2010 Pages: 4 Keywords: Alternating Direction Implicit, ADI, Partial Differential Equation, PDE, finite difference, Power Reverse Dual Currency swap, PRDC, Target Redemption, TARN, auxiliary state variable Note: To appear in the proceedings of the International Conference of Numerical Analysis and Applied Mathematics 2010 (ICNAAM 2010), Symposium in Computational Finance, Rhodes, Greece, 19-25/09/2010. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We propose a general framework for efficient pricing via a partial differential equation (PDE) approach for exotic cross-currency interest rate (IR) derivatives, with strong emphasis on long-dated foreign exchange (FX) IR hybrids, namely Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) swaps with a FX Target Redemption (FX-TARN) provision. The FX-TARN provision provides a cap on the FX-linked PRDC coupon amounts, and once the accumulated coupon amount reaches this cap, the underlying PRDC swap terminates. Our PDE pricing framework is based on an auxiliary state variable to keep track of the total accumulated PRDC coupon amount. Finite differences on uniform grids and the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) method are used for the spatial and time discretizations, respectively, of the model-dependent PDE corresponding to each discretized value of the auxiliary variable. Numerical examples illustrating the convergence properties of the numerical methods are provided.

 Title: Numerical Solution of Stochastic Models of Biochemical Kinetics Author: Silvana Ilie, Wayne H. Enright and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: Original draft June 2010; revised Aug. 2010 Pages: 20 Keywords: Chemical Master Equation, Chemical Langevin Equation, Gillespie algorithm, tau-leaping, stiff systems, multi-scale simulations, hybrid methods, stochastic biochemical modeling Note: To appear in the Canadian Applied Mathematics Quarterly (CAMQ), Vol. 17, No. 3, 2009, pp. 523-554. An earlier version of this paper can be found here. File: NA.Bio.Kin.Survey.rev1.pdf

Abstract:

Cellular processes are typically viewed as systems of chemical reactions. Often such processes involve some species with low population numbers, for which a traditional deterministic model of classical chemical kinetics fails to accurately capture the dynamics of the system. In this case, stochastic models are needed to account for the random fluctuations observed at the level of a single cell. We survey the stochastic models of well-stirred biochemical systems and discuss important recent advances in the development of numerical methods for simulating them. Finally, we identify some key topics for future research.

 Title: A Parallel Implementation on GPUs of ADI Finite Difference Methods for Parabolic PDEs with Applications in Finance Author: Duy Minh Dang, Christina C. Christara and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: March 2010; revised December 2010 Pages: 21 Keywords: Alternating Direction Implicit, ADI, Partial Differential Equation, PDE, Graphics Processing Units, GPUs, parallel computing, finite difference, multi-asset options, multi-currency swaps Note: To appear in the Canadian Applied Mathematics Quarterly (CAMQ), Vol. 17, No. 4, 2009, pp. 627-660. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We study a parallel implementation on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) of Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) time-discretization methods for solving time-dependent parabolic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) in three spatial dimensions with mixed spatial derivatives in a variety of applications in computational finance. Finite differences on uniform grids are used for the spatial discretization of the PDEs. As examples, we apply the GPU-based parallel methods to price European rainbow and European basket options, each written on three assets. Numerical results showing the efficiency of the parallel methods are provided.

 Title: GPU Pricing of Exotic Cross-Currency Interest Rate Derivatives with a Foreign Exchange Volatility Skew Model Author: Duy Minh Dang, Christina Christara and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: February 2010 Pages: 15 Keywords: Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) Swaps; Bermudan Cancelable; Partial Differential Equation (PDE); Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI), Finite Differences; Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) Note: To appear in the Special Issue on "Computational Finance" of the Journal of Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience (JCCPE). File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

We present a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) parallelization of the computation of the price of exotic cross-currency interest rate derivatives via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach. In particular, we focus on the GPU-based parallel pricing of long-dated foreign exchange (FX) interest rate hybrids, namely Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) swaps with Bermudan cancelable features. We consider a three-factor pricing model with FX volatility skew which results in a time-dependent parabolic PDE in three spatial dimensions. Finite difference methods on uniform grids are used for the spatial discretization of the PDE, and the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) technique is employed for the time discretization. We then exploit the parallel architectural features of GPUs together with the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) framework to design and implement an efficient parallel algorithm for pricing PRDC swaps. Over each period of the tenor structure, we divide the pricing of a Bermudan cancelable PRDC swap into two independent pricing subproblems, each of which can efficiently be solved on a GPU via a parallelization of the ADI timestepping technique. Numerical results indicate that GPUs can provide significant increase in performance over CPUs when pricing PRDC swaps. An analysis of the impact of the FX skew on such derivatives is provided.

 Title: Application of Generic Interpolants in the Investigation and Visualization of Approximate Solutions of PDEs on Coarse Unstructured Meshes Authors: Hassan Goldani Moghaddam Date: January, 2010 Pages: 140 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2010. File: Hassan_Goldani_Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

In scientific computing, it is very common to visualize the approximate solution obtained by a numerical PDE solver by drawing surface or contour plots of all or some components of the associated approximate solutions. These plots are used to investigate the behavior of the solution and to display important properties or characteristics of the approximate solutions. In this thesis, we consider techniques for drawing such contour plots for the solution of two and three dimensional PDEs. We first present three fast contouring algorithms in two dimensions over an underlying unstructured mesh. Unlike standard contouring algorithms, our algorithms do not require a fine structured approximation. We assume that the underlying PDE solver generates approximations at some scattered data points in the domain of interest. We then generate a piecewise cubic polynomial interpolant (PCI) which approximates the solution of a PDE at off-mesh points based on the DEI (Differential Equation Interpolant) approach. The DEI approach assumes that accurate approximations to the solution and first-order derivatives exist at a set of discrete mesh points. The extra information required to uniquely define the associated piecewise polynomial is determined based on almost satisfying the PDE at a set of collocation points. In the process of generating contour plots, the PCI is used whenever we need an accurate approximation at a point inside the domain. The direct extension of the both DEI-based interpolant and the contouring algorithm to three dimensions is also investigated.

The use of the DEI-based interpolant we introduce for visualization can also be used to develop effective Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) techniques and global error estimates. In particular, we introduce and investigate four AMR techniques along with a hybrid mesh refinement technique. Our interest is in investigating how well such a generic' mesh selection strategy, based on properties of the problem alone, can perform compared with a special-purpose strategy that is designed for a specific PDE method. We also introduce an \{a} posteriori global error estimator by introducing the solution of a companion PDE defined in terms of the associated PCI.

 Title: On Computational Methods for the Valuation of Credit Derivatives Author: Wanhe Zhang Date: January 2010 Pages: 82 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2010. File: Wanhe.Zhang.PhD.Thesis.pdf

Abstract:

A credit derivative is a financial instrument whose value depends on the credit risk of an underlying asset or assets. Credit risk is the possibility that the obligor fails to honor any payment obligation. This thesis proposes four new computational methods for the valuation of credit derivatives.

Compared with synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) or basket default swaps (BDS), the value of which depends on the defaults of a prescribed underlying portfolio, a forward-starting CDO or BDS has a random underlying portfolio, as some "names" may default before the CDO or BDS starts. We develop an approach to convert a forward product to an equivalent standard one. Therefore, we avoid having to consider the default combinations in the period between the start of the forward contract and the start of the associated CDO or BDS. In addition, we propose a hybrid method combining Monte Carlo simulation with an analytical method to obtain an effective method for pricing forward-starting BDS.

Current factor copula models are static and fail to calibrate consistently against market quotes. To overcome this deficiency, we develop a novel chaining technique to build a multi-period factor copula model from several one-period factor copula models. This allows the default correlations to be time-dependent, thereby allowing the model to fit market quotes consistently. Previously developed multi-period factor copula models require multi-dimensional integration, usually computed by Monte Carlo simulation, which makes the calibration extremely time consuming. Our chaining method, on the other hand, possesses the Markov property. This allows us to compute the portfolio loss distribution of a completely homogeneous pool analytically.

The multi-period factor copula is a discrete-time dynamic model. As a first step towards developing a continuous-time dynamic model, we model the default of an underlying by the first hitting time of a Wiener process, which starts from a random initial state. We find an explicit relation between the default distribution and the initial state distribution of the Wiener process. Furthermore, conditions on the existence of such a relation are discussed. This approach allows us to match market quotes consistently.

 Title: A Survey of Modeling and Simulation of Skeletal Muscle Authors: Dongwoon Lee, Michael Glueck, Azam Khan, Eugene Fiume and Ken Jackson Date: December 2009 Pages: 13 Keywords: Computer Graphics, Three-Dimensional Graphics, Animation, Physically Based Modeling, Human Modeling, Muscle Physiology, Anatomy, Biomechanics Note: Submitted to Foundations and Trends in Computer Graphics and Vision File: MuscleSimulationSurvey.pdf

Abstract:
Muscles provide physiological functions to drive body movement and anatomically characterize body shape, making them a crucial component of modeling animated human figures. Substantial efforts have been expended on developing computational models of muscles for the purpose of increasing realism and accuracy in a broad range of applications, including computer graphics and biomechanics. We survey various approaches that have been employed to model and simulate muscles both morphologically and functionally. Modeling the realistic morphology of muscle requires that muscle deformations be accurately depicted. To this end, several methodologies have been presented, including geometrically-based, physically-based, and data-driven approaches. On the other hand, the simulation of physiological muscle functions aims to identify the biomechanical controls responsible for realistic human motion. Estimating these muscle controls has been pursued through static and dynamic simulations. We review and discuss all these approaches, and conclude with suggestions for future research.

 Title: Adaptive and high-order methods for valuing American options Authors: Christina Christara and Duy Minh Dang Date: December 2009 Pages: 25 Keywords: adaptive mesh selection, error equidistribution, quadratic splines, collocation, finite differences, European option, American option, penalty method Note: A later version of this paper is published in the Journal of Computational Finance, Vol 14, Issue 4, 2011, pages 73-113. File: ccc/americanOption.pdf

Abstract:
We develop space-time adaptive and high-order methods for valuing American options using a partial differential equation (PDE) approach. The linear complementarity problem arising due to the free boundary is handled by a penalty method. Both finite difference and finite element methods are considered for the space discretization of the PDE, while classical finite differences, such as Crank-Nicolson, are used for the time discretization. The high-order discretization in space is based on an optimal finite element collocation method, the main computational requirements of which are the solution of one tridiagonal linear system at each time step, while the resulting errors at the gridpoints and midpoints of the space partition are fourth-order. To control the space error, we use adaptive gridpoint distribution based on an error equidistribution principle. A time stepsize selector is used to further increase the efficiency of the methods. Numerical examples show that our methods converge fast and provide highly accurate options prices, Greeks, and early exercise boundaries.

 Title: A PDE Pricing Framework for Cross-Currency Interest Rate Derivatives Author: Duy Minh Dang, Christina Christara, Kenneth R. Jackson and Asif Lakhany Date: November 2009 Pages: 10 Keywords: Power Reverse Dual Currency Swaps, Bermudan Cancelable, Partial Differential Equation, PDE, Alternating Direction Implicit, ADI, Generalized Minimal Residual, GMRES, Fast Fourier Transform, FFT Note: Accepted for publication by the "2010 Workshop on Computational Finance and Business Intelligence", International Conference In Computational Science (ICCS), Amsterdam, May 31 to June 2, 2010. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:
We propose a general framework for efficient pricing via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach of cross-currency interest rate derivatives under the Hull-White model. In particular, we focus on pricing long-dated foreign exchange (FX) interest rate hybrids, namely Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) swaps with Bermudan cancelable features. We formulate the problem in terms of three correlated processes that incorporate FX skew via a local volatility function. This formulation results in a parabolic PDE in three spatial dimensions. Finite difference methods are used for the spatial discretization of the PDE. The Crank-Nicolson method and the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) method are considered for the time discretization. In the former case, the preconditioned Generalized Minimal Residual (GMRES) method is employed for the solution of the resulting block banded linear system at each time step, with the preconditioner solved by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) techniques. Numerical examples illustrating the convergence properties of the methods are provided.

 Title: Pricing of Cross-Currency Interest Rate Derivatives on Graphics Processing Units Author: Duy Minh Dang Date: October 2009 Pages: 15 Keywords: Power Reverse Dual Currency Swaps, Bermudan Cancelable, Partial Differential Equation, PDE, Alternating Direction Implicit, Finite Differences, Graphics Processing Units, Parallel Computing Note: Accepted for publication in the Third International Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing in Finance, IEEE International Parallel & Distributed Processing Symposium, Atlanta, USA, April 2010. File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:
We present a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) parallelization of the computation of the price of cross-currency interest rate derivatives via a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) approach. In particular, we focus on the GPU-based parallel computation of the price of long-dated foreign exchange interest rate hybrids, namely Power Reverse Dual Currency (PRDC) swaps with Bermudan cancelable features. We consider a three-factor pricing model with foreign exchange skew which results in a parabolic PDE in three spatial dimensions plus time. Finite difference methods on uniform grids are used for the spatial discretization of the PDE, and the Alternating Direction Implicit technique is employed for the time discretization. We then exploit the parallel architectural features of GPUs together with the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) framework to design and implement an efficient parallel algorithm for pricing PRDC swaps. Over each period of the tenor structure, we divide the pricing of a Bermudan cancelable PRDC swap into two independent pricing subproblems, each of which can efficiently be solved on a GPU. Using this approach on two NVIDIA Tesla C870 GPUs of an NVIDIA 4-GPU Tesla S870 to price a Bermudan cancelable PRDC swap having a 30 year maturity and annual exchange of fund flows, we have achieved an asymptotic speedup by a factor of 44 relative to a single thread on a 2.0GHz Xeon processor.

 Title: A study of a discrete element method based granular dynamics solver Author: Tina Siu Yee Date: October 2009 Pages: 43 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2009. File: ccc/tyee-09-msc.pdf Keywords: molecular dynamics, sand, powder, particle simulation, ODE solver, Runge-Kutta, friction, dampening, piling, stiction

Abstract: Granular dynamics is the dynamics of a large set of small particles (grains). Convincing simulation of natural granular phenomena (e.g. dust, sand or powders) is a challenging mathematical and computational problem. Our observation is that the more realistically the collection of grains approaches its static state, the more natural the simulation appears. This study focuses on the simulation of sets of grains as the set approaches its static state. The method begins with a discrete element (also referred to as molecular dynamics) model of the inter-particle contacts within the granular collection. Inertia terms (friction/dampening) are added to the basic contact model to facilitate static piling. An examination of the different contact models on the formation of the final static state and a discussion of the numerical consequences of each model is presented. The discrete element approach demonstrates to be a straightforward and natural way to model many granular behaviors. Its versatility makes it possible to use it to build a general-purpose granular solver.

 Title: Quartic spline collocation for second-order boundary value problems Authors: Christina C. Christara and Guohong Liu Date: September 2009 Pages: 8 Keywords: sixth order convergence, quartic splines, second-order BVP, collocation Note: Proceedings of the 9th HERCMA Conference on Computer Mathematics and Applications, Athens University of Economics and Business, September 23-26, 2009, Athens, Greece, pp. 1-8. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu

Abstract:
Collocation methods based on quartic splines are presented for second-order two-point boundary value problems. In order to obtain a uniquely solvable linear system for the degrees of freedom of the quartic spline collocation approximation, in addition to the boundary conditions specified by the problem, extra boundary or near-boundary conditions are introduced. Non-optimal (fourth-order) and optimal (sixth-order) quartic-spline methods are considered. The theoretical behavior of the collocation methods is verified by numerical experiments. The extension of the methods to two-dimensional problems is briefly considered.

 Title: Option Pricing Using Fourier Space Time-Stepping Framework Author: Vladimir Surkov Date: August 2009 Pages: 134 Keywords: Option pricing, Levy processes, partial integro-differential equation, Fourier transform Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2009. File: Link to the thesis on the SSRN

Abstract:

This thesis develops a generic framework based on the Fourier transform for pricing and hedging of various options in equity, commodity, currency, and insurance markets. The pricing problem can be reduced to solving a partial integro-differential equation (PIDE). The Fourier Space Time-stepping (FST) framework developed in this thesis circumvents the problems associated with the existing finite difference methods by utilizing the Fourier transform to solve the PIDE. The FST framework-based methods are generic, highly efficient and rapidly convergent.

The Fourier transform can be applied to the pricing PIDE to obtain a linear system of ordinary differential equations that can be solved explicitly. Solving the PIDE in Fourier space allows for the integral term to be handled efficiently and avoids the asymmetrical treatment of diffusion and integral terms, common in the finite difference schemes found in the literature. For path-independent options, prices can be obtained for a range of stock prices in one iteration of the algorithm. For exotic, path-dependent options, a time-stepping methodology is developed to handle barriers, free boundaries, and exercise policies.

The thesis includes applications of the FST framework-based methods to a wide range of option pricing problems. Pricing of single- and multi-asset, European and path-dependent options under independent-increment exponential Levy stock price models, common in equity and insurance markets, can be done efficiently via the cornerstone FST method. Mean-reverting Levy spot price models, common in commodity markets, are handled by introducing a frequency transformation, which can be readily computed via scaling of the option value function. Generating stochastic volatility, to match the long-term equity options market data, and stochastic skew, observed in currency markets, is addressed by introducing a non-stationary extension of multi-dimensional Levy processes using regime-switching. Finally, codependent jumps in multi-asset models are introduced through copulas.

The FST methods are computationally efficient, running in O(MNd log2 N) time with M time steps and N space points in each dimension on a d-dimensional grid. The methods achieve second-order convergence in space; for American options, a penalty method is used to attain second-order convergence in time. Furthermore, graphics processing units are utilized to further reduce the computational time of FST methods.

 Title: An Efficient Unified Approach for the Numerical Solution of Delay Differential Equations Author: Hossein ZivariPiran and Wayne H. Enright Date: September 2009 Pages: 20 Keywords: Delay differential equations, Discontinuous ordinary differential equations, Runge-Kutta methods, Linear multistep methods Note: To appear in Numerical Algorithms DOI: 10.1007/s11075-009-9331-y Springer Link to article File: hzpEnrightNA09Preprint

Abstract:

In this paper we propose a new framework for designing a delay differential equation (DDE) solver which works with any supplied initial value problem (IVP) solver that is based on a standard step-by-step approach, such as Runge-Kutta or linear multi-step methods, and can provide dense output. This is done by treating a general DDE as a special example of a discontinuous IVP. Using this interpretation we develop an efficient technique to solve the resulting discontinuous IVP. We also give a more clear process for the numerical techniques used when solving the implicit equations that arise on a time step, such as when the underlying IVP solver is implicit or the delay vanishes.

The new modular design for the resulting simulator we introduce, helps to accelerate the utilization of advances in the different components of an effective numerical method. Such components include the underlying discrete formula, the interpolant for dense output, the strategy for handling discontinuities and the iteration scheme for solving any implicit equations that arise.

 Title: Efficient Simulation, Accurate Sensitivity Analysis and Reliable Parameter Estimation for Delay Differential Equations Author: Hossein ZivariPiran Date: September 2009 Pages: 103 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2009. File: hzp_phd_thesis

Abstract:

Delay differential equations (DDEs) are a class of differential equations that have received considerable recent attention and been shown to model many real life problems, traditionally formulated as systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), more naturally and more accurately. Ideally a DDE modeling package should provide facilities for approximating the solution, performing a sensitivity analysis and estimating unknown parameters. In this thesis we propose new techniques for efficient simulation, accurate sensitivity analysis and reliable parameter estimation of DDEs.

We propose a new framework for designing a delay differential equation (DDE) solver which works with any supplied initial value problem (IVP) solver that is based on a general linear method (GLM) and can provide dense output. This is done by treating a general DDE as a special example of a discontinuous IVP. We identify a precise process for the numerical techniques used when solving the implicit equations that arise on a time step, such as when the underlying IVP solver is implicit or the delay vanishes.

We introduce an equation governing the dynamics of sensitivities for the most general system of parametric DDEs. Then, having a similar view as the simulation (DDEs as discontinuous ODEs), we introduce a formula for finding the size of jumps that appear at discontinuity points when the sensitivity equations are integrated. This leads to an algorithm which can compute sensitivities for various kind of parameters very accurately.

We also develop an algorithm for reliable parameter identification of DDEs. We propose a method for adding extra constraints to the optimization problem, changing a possibly non-smooth optimization to a smooth problem. These constraints are effectively handled using information from the simulator and the sensitivity analyzer.

Finally, we discuss the structure of our evolving modeling package DDEM. We present a process that has been used for incorporating existing codes to reduce the implementation time. We discuss the object-oriented paradigm as a way of having a manageable design with reusable and customizable components. The package is programmed in C++ and provides a user-friendly calling sequences. The numerical results are very encouraging and show the effectiveness of the techniques.

 Title: Quadratic spline collocation for one-dimensional parabolic partial differential equations Authors: Christina C. Christara, Tong Chen and Dang Duy Minh Date: 2009 Pages: 43 Note: To appear in Numerical Algorithms. File: DOI doi:10.1007/s11075-009-9317-9 Journal page: http://www.springerlink.com/content/v1g8565702373446/ Earlier version: http://www.cs.toronto.edu/pub/reports/na/ccc/parab.ps.gz Keywords: quadratic splines, collocation, parabolic PDEs, Crank-Nicolson, stability, optimal order of convergence, American options.

Abstract:

New methods for solving general linear parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) in one space dimension are developed. The methods combine quadratic-spline collocation for the space discretization and classical finite differences, such as Crank-Nicolson, for the time discretization. The main computational requirements of the most efficient method are the solution of one tridiagonal linear system at each time step, while the resulting errors at the gridpoints and midpoints of the space partition are fourth order. The stability and convergence properties of some of the new methods are analyzed for a model problem. Numerical results demonstrate the stability and accuracy of the methods. Adaptive mesh techniques are introduced in the space dimension, and the resulting method is applied to the American put option pricing problem, giving very competitive results.

 Title: The Reliability/Cost Trade-off for a Class of ODE Solvers Authors: W.H. Enright and L. Yan Date: 2009 Pages: 22 Note: To appear in Numerical Algorithms DOI: 10.1007/s11075-009-9288-x Springer Link to article File: enl09.pdf

Abstract:

In the numerical solution of ODEs, it is now possible to develop efficient techniques that will deliver approximate solutions that are piecewise polynomials. The resulting methods can be designed so that the piecewise polynomial will satisfy a perturbed ODE with an associated defect (or residual) that is directly controlled in a consistent fashion. We will investigate the reliability/cost trade off that one faces when implementing and using such methods, when the methods are based on an underlying discrete Runge-Kutta formula.

In particular we will identify a new class of continuous Runge-Kutta methods with a very reliable defect estimator and a validity check that reflects the credibility of the estimate. We will introduce different measures of the reliability'' of an approximate solution that are based on the accuracy of the approximate solution; the maximum magnitude of the defect of the approximate solution; and how well the method is able to estimate the maximum magnitude of the defect of the approximate solution. We will also consider how methods can be implemented to detect and cope with special difficulties such as the effect of round-off error (on a single step) or the ability of a method to estimate the magnitude of the defect when the stepsize is large (as might happen when using a high-order method at relaxed accuracy requests).

Numerical results on a wide selection of problems will be summarized for methods of orders five, six and eight. It will be shown that a modest increase in the cost per step can lead to a significant improvement in the quality of the approximate solutions and the reliability of the method. For example, the numerical results demonstrate that, if one is willing to increase the cost per step by 50\%, then a method can deliver approximate solutions where the reported estimated maximum defect is within 1\% of its true value on 95\% of the steps.

 Title: Analytic Dynamic Factor Copula Models Authors: Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Wanhe Zhang Date: Revised November 2011 Pages: 23 Note: To appear in the book Credit Portfolio Securitizations and Derivatives to be published by Wiley. Earlier versions of this paper can be found here and here. File: Analytic.Dynamic.Factor.Copula.Models.2011a.pdf

Abstract:

The Gaussian factor copula model is the market standard model for multi-name credit derivatives. Its main drawback is that factor copula models exhibit correlation smiles when calibrating against market tranche quotes. To overcome the calibration deficiency, we introduce a multi-period factor copula model by chaining one-period factor copula models. The correlation coefficients in our model are allowed to be time-dependent, and hence they are allowed to follow certain stochastic processes. Therefore, we can calibrate against market quotes more consistently. Usually, multi-period factor copula models require multi-dimensional integration, typically computed by Monte Carlo simulation, which makes calibration extremely time consuming. In our model, the portfolio loss of a completely homogeneous pool possesses the Markov property, thus we can compute the portfolio loss distribution analytically without multi-dimensional integration. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and flexibility of our model to match market quotes.

 Title: On the Blunting Method in the Verified Integration of ODEs Authors: N. S. Nedialkov, K. R. Jackson and M. Neher Date: May 2009; revised Sept. 2009 Pages: 17 Note: Submitted to the Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Taylor Model Methods. An earlier version of this paper can be found here. File: ned_jac_neh_blunting_2009b.pdf

Abstract:

Verified methods for the integration of initial value problems (IVPs) for ODEs aim at computing guaranteed error bounds for the flow of an ODE and maintaining a low level of overestimation at the same time. This paper is concerned with one of the sources of overestimation: a matrix-vector product describing a parallelepiped in the phase space. We analyze the so-called blunting method developed by Berz and Makino, which consists of a special choice of the matrix in this product. For the linear model problem
u′ = Au,   u(0) = u0u0,
where u ∈ Rm, A ∈ Rm x m, m ≥ 2 and u0 is a given interval vector, we compare the convergence behavior of the blunting method with that of the well-known QR interval method. For both methods, the amount of overestimation of the flow of the initial set depends on the spectral radius of some well-defined matrices. We show that under certain conditions, the spectral radii of the matrices that describe the excess propagation in the QR method and in the blunting method, respectively, have the same limits, so that the excess propagation in both methods is similar.

 Title: New Interpolants for Asymptotically Correct Defect Control of BVODEs Authors: W.H. Enright and P.H. Muir Date: 2009 Pages: 20 Note: To appear in Numerical Algorithms DOI: 10.1007/s11075-009-9266-3 Springer Link to article File: em09.pdf

Abstract:

The defect of a continuous approximate solution to an ODE is the amount by which that approximation fails to satisfy the ODE. A number of studies have explored the use of {\it asymptotically correct} defect estimates in the numerical solution of initial value ODEs (IVODEs). By employing an appropriately constructed interpolant to an approximate discrete solution to the ODE, various researchers have shown that it is possible to obtain estimates of the local error and/or the maximum defect that are asymptotically correct on each step, as the stepsize $h \rightarrow 0$.

In this paper, we investigate the usefulness of asymptotically correct defect estimates for defect control in boundary value ODE (BVODE) codes. In the BVODE context, for a sequence of meshes which partition the problem interval, one computes a discrete numerical solution, constructs an interpolant, and estimates the maximum defect. The estimates (typically obtained by sampling the defect at a small number of points on each subinterval of the mesh) are used in a redistribution process to determine the next mesh and thus the availability of these more reliable maximum defect estimates can lead to improved meshes. As well, when such estimates are available, the code can terminate with more confidence that the defect is bounded throughout the problem domain by the user-prescribed tolerance. In this paper we employ a boot-strapping approach to derive interpolants that allow asymptotically correct defect estimates. Numerical results are included to demonstrate the validity of this approach.

 Title: Quartic spline collocation for fourth-order boundary value problems Authors: Christina C. Christara, Ying Zhu and Jingrui Zhang Date: September 2008 Pages: 6 Note: Proceedings of the 2008 Numerical Analysis conference, September 1-5, 2008, Kalamata, Greece, pp. 62-67. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu

Abstract:
We consider the numerical solution of linear fourth-order boundary value problems (BVPs) in one and two dimensions, by methods based on quartic splines and the collocation methodology. The discretization error is sixth order on the gridpoints and midpoints of a uniform partition and fifth order globally in the uniform norm. For the linear systems arising from the discretization of certain biharmonic problems by quartic spline collocation, we develop fast solvers based on Fourier transforms, leading to asymptotically almost optimal solution techniques.

 Title: Multigrid and Spline Collocation Methods on Non-uniform Grids Author: Guoyu Wang Date: September 2008 Pages: 98 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2008. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu Keywords: quadratic splines, cubic splines, fourth order of convergence, collocation, multigrid, extension operator, restriction operator, preconditioning

Abstract: This thesis describes numerical methods for the solution of one-dimensional second-order differential equations on non-uniform grids. The methods combine the multigrid and spline collocation methodologies. Multigrid methods are presented. Appropriate restriction and extension operators are developed for quadratic and cubic splines on non-uniform grids. Multigrid methods are applied to quadratic and cubic spline collocation equations arising from the discretization of one-dimensional second-order differential equations. The convergence analysis of a two-grid method integrated with a damped Richardson relaxation scheme as smoother shows that the rate of convergence is faster than $\frac{1}{2}$ for a model second-order equation with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. An adaptive technique for estimating the minimal acceptable coarse grid size is proposed. Numerical experiments using full multigrid methods are performed on various one-dimensional second-order differential equations discretized on non-uniform grids, and the conditions under which they are convergent and efficient are studied. The numerical results confirm our analysis.

 Title: Randomization in the First Hitting Time Problem Authors: Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Wanhe Zhang Date: February 2009 Pages: 10 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper will appear in Statistics and Probability Letters. An earlier version of this paper, published in Feb. 2008 and entitled "Randomization in the Default Boundary Problem", is available from http://www.defaultrisk.com/ and as First.Hitting.Time.2008.pdf. File: First.Hitting.Time.2009.pdf

Abstract:

In this paper we consider the following inverse problem for the first hitting time distribution: given a Wiener process with a random initial state, probability distribution, F(t), and a linear boundary, b(t) = mu t, find a distribution of the initial state such that the distribution of the first hitting time is F(t). This problem has important applications in credit risk modeling where the process represents, so-called, distance to default of an obligor, the first hitting time represents a default event and the boundary separates the healthy states of the obligor from the default state. We show that randomization of the initial state of the process makes the problem analytically tractable.

 Title: Bi-quartic Spline Collocation Methods for Fourth-order Boundary Value Problems with an Application to the Biharmonic Dirichlet Problem Author: Jingrui Zhang Date: January 2008 Pages: 160 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2008. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu Keywords: sixth order of convergence, quartic splines, collocation, fast Fourier Transform (FFT), GMRES, preconditioning

Abstract: We present optimal bi-quartic spline collocation methods for the numerical solution of fourth-order boundary value problems on rectangular domains, and apply a particular instance of these methods to the biharmonic Dirichlet problem.

The methods are based on quartic splines and the collocation discretization methodology with midpoints of a uniform partition as the collocation points. While the standard quartic spline method usually provides second-order approximations, the two bi-quartic spline collocation methods developed in this thesis are observed to produce approximations which are of sixth order at grid points and midpoints, and of fifth order at other points. Both are based on high order perturbations of the differential and boundary conditions operators. The one-step (extrapolated) method forces the approximations to satisfy a perturbed problem, while the three-step (deferred-correction) method proceeds in three steps and perturbs the right sides of the linear equations appropriately.

The three-step bi-quartic spline collocation method is then applied to the biharmonic Dirichlet problem and a fast solver for the resulting linear systems is developed. The fast solver consists of solving an auxiliary biharmonic problem with Dirichlet and second derivative boundary conditions along the two opposite boundaries, and a one-dimensional problem related to the two opposite boundaries. The linear system arising from the bi-quartic spline collocation discretization of the auxiliary problem is solvable by fast Fourier transforms. The problem related to the two opposite boundaries is solved by preconditioned GMRES (PGMRES). We present a detailed analysis of the performance of PGMRES by studying bounds for the eigenvalues of the preconditioned matrix. We show that the number of PGMRES iterations is independent of the grid size $n$. As a result, the complexity of the fast solver is $O(n^2\log(n))$. Numerical experiments from a variety of problems, including practical applications and problems more general than the analysis assumes, verify the accuracy of the discretization scheme and the effectiveness of the fast solver.

 Title: Fast Valuation of Forward Starting Basket Default Swaps Authors: Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Wanhe Zhang Date: December 2007 Pages: 20 Note: Also available from http://www.defaultrisk.com/ A slightly revised version of this paper is published in the International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2010), pp. 195-209. File: fwdbds.2007a.pdf

Abstract:

A basket default swap (BDS) is a credit derivative with contingent payments that are triggered by a combination of default events of the reference entities. A forward-starting basket default swap (FBDS) is a BDS starting at a specified future time. Existing analytic or semi-analytic methods for pricing FBDS are time consuming due to the large number of possible default combinations before the BDS starts. This paper develops a fast approximation method for FBDS based on the conditional independence framework. The method converts the pricing of a FBDS to an equivalent BDS pricing problem and combines Monte Carlo simulation with an analytic approach to achieve an effective method. This hybrid method is a novel technique which can be viewed either as a means to accelerate the convergence of Monte Carlo simulation or as a way to estimate parameters in an analytic method that are difficult to compute directly. Numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed hybrid method.

 Title: Analysis of the Blunting Anti-Wrapping Strategy Authors: Kenneth R. Jackson, Ned S. Nedialkov and Markus Neher Date: October 2007 Pages: 2 Note: This paper was presented at ICIAM 2007, Zurich, Switzerland, July 2007. The proceedings will be published by Proceedings in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics. File: Blunting.iciam07.pdf

Abstract:

Interval methods for ODEs often face two obstacles in practical computations: the dependency problem and the wrapping effect. Taylor model methods, which have been developed by Berz and his group, have recently attracted attention. By combining interval arithmetic with symbolic calculations, these methods suffer far less from the dependency problem than traditional interval methods for ODEs. By allowing nonconvex enclosure sets for the flow of a given initial value problem, Taylor model methods have also a high potential for suppressing the wrapping effect.

Makino and Berz advocate the so-called blunting method. In this paper, we analyze the blunting method (as an interval method) for a linear model ODE. We compare its convergence behavior with that of the well-known QR interval method.

 Title: Parallel Option Pricing With Fourier Space Time-Stepping Method on Graphics Processing Units Author: Vladimir Surkov Date: October 2007 Pages: 7 Note: Accepted by the First International Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing in Finance 2008. The link below is to a copy of the paper on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:

With the evolution of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) into powerful and cost-efficient computing architectures, their range of application has expanded tremendously, especially in the area of computational finance. Current research in the area, however, is limited in terms of options priced and complexity of stock price models. This paper presents algorithms, based on the Fourier Space Time-stepping (FST) method, for pricing single and multi-asset European and American options with Levy underliers on a GPU. Furthermore, the single-asset pricing algorithm is parallelized to attain greater efficiency.

 Title: Numerical Methods for the Valuation of Synthetic Collateralized Debt Obligations Author: Xiaofang Ma Date: September 2007 Pages: 82 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2007. File: ma-07-phd.pdf

Abstract:

A Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) is a credit derivative that creates fixed income securities, which are known as tranches. A CDO is called a synthetic CDO if the risky assets in the underlying pool are credit default swaps. An essential part of the valuation of a synthetic CDO tranche is how to estimate accurately and efficiently the expected value of the tranche loss function. It is known that the expected value of a function of one random variable is completely determined by the distribution of the random variable and the function itself. A standard approach to estimate the expected value of a function of one random variable is to estimate the distribution of the underlying random variable, the pool loss in our case, and then to evaluate the expected value of the given function, the tranche loss function for our problem. Following this approach, we introduce three methods for estimating the distribution of the pool loss: a stable recursive method for computing the distribution of the pool loss exactly, an improved compound Poisson approximation method and a normal power approximation method for approximating the distribution of the pool loss.

We also develop a new method that focuses on the tranche loss function directly. The tranche loss function is expressed simply in terms of two bases functions. Each of the two bases functions is a transformation of the hockey stick function h(x), where h(x) = 1 - x if 0 ≤ x < 1 and 0 if x ≥ 1. By approximating the hockey stick function by a sum of exponentials, the tranche loss function is approximated by a sum of exponentials. The main advantage of this method is that the distribution of the pool loss need not be estimated. A crucial part of this new method is the determination of the coefficients of an exponential approximation to the hockey stick function. We discuss both the numerical method for computing the exponential approximation to the hockey stick function as well as the theoretical properties of the approximation.

Performance comparisons of the four new methods developed in this thesis and other standard methods for synthetic CDO valuation are presented.

 Title: Adaptive Finite Difference Methods for Valuing American Options Author: Duy Minh Dang Date: September 2007 Pages: 128 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2007. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu Keywords: adaptive mesh selection, monitor function, finite differences, Crank-Nicolson, European option, American option, penalty method, projected SOR

Abstract: We develop space-time adaptive methods for valuing American options with strong emphasis on American put options. We examine the application of adaptive techniques to the Black-Scholes partial differential equation problem associated with an American put option in the context of non-uniform second-order finite differences. At certain timesteps, we obtain a redistribution of the spatial points based on a monitor function that attempts to equidistribute the error. The proposed finite difference discretization on non-uniform grids and redistribution of the spatial points lead to linear complementarity problems with $\Mcal$-matrices. The Projected Successive Over-relaxation and a penalty method are considered to handle the free boundaries. We study and compare the accuracy and efficiency of the considered methods. A complete proof of convergence and uniqueness of the projected SOR method under certain conditions is also presented.

 Title: Quartic Spline Collocation Methods For Second-Order Two-Point Boundary Value ODE Problems Author: Guohong Liu Date: August 2007 Pages: 130 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2007. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu Keywords: sixth order of convergence, quartic splines, collocation, boundary conditions

Abstract: Collocation methods based on quartic splines are presented for second-order two-point boundary value problems. In addition to the boundary conditions specified by the problem, extra boundary conditions are introduced in order to uniquely determine the quartic spline approximation. The standard quartic spline collocation method gives fourth order bounds. Two optimal methods, namely the extrapolated (one-step) and the deferred-correction (two-step) methods, are formulated based on appropriate extra boundary conditions and an appropriate perturbation of the operators of the differential equation, boundary conditions and extra boundary conditions. The convergence analysis and error bounds are developed using a Green's functions approach. The analysis shows that the maximum discrete error is of sixth order, and the maximum global error is of fifth order for the optimal methods.
The properties of the matrices arising from the optimal methods for a certain class of problems are studied. Non-optimal collocation methods based on different extra boundary conditions are also investigated. Problems with layers are also considered, and a grid refinement technique is presented. The theoretical behavior of the collocation methods is verified by numerical results.

 Title: A High-Performance Method for the Biharmonic Dirichlet Problem on Rectangles Authors: Christina C. Christaramand Jingrui Zhang Date: July 2007 Pages: 3 Note: Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference On Preconditioning Techniques for Large Sparse Matrix Problems in Scientific and Industrial Applications, July 9-12, 2007 Météopole, Toulouse, France, pp. 35-37. File: Please contact ccc SYMBOL_AT cs DOT toronto DOT edu

Abstract:
We propose a fast solver for the linear system resulting from the application of a sixth-order Bi-Quartic Spline Collocation method to the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on a rectangle. The fast solver is based on Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) and preconditioned GMRES (PGMRES) and has complexity $O(n^2\log(n))$ on an $n \times n$ uniform partition. The FFTs are applied to two auxiliary problems with different boundary conditions on the two vertical sides of the domain, while the PGMRES is applied to a problem related to the two vertical boundaries. We show that the number of PGMRES iterations required to reduce the relative residual to a certain tolerance is independent of the gridsize $n$. Numerical experiments verify the effectiveness of the solver.

 Title: Robust and Reliable Defect Control for Runge-Kutta Methods Author: Li Yan Date: July 2007 Pages: 179 File: LiYan-07-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:

Using defect error control for a class of continuous Runge-Kutta methods for solving nonstiff problems has been studied over the last two decades. Recently a class of such methods, with an associated defect that can be reliably controlled, has been proposed \cite{Enright2007}. This approach is improved in this thesis by increasing the degree of the local interpolant by one and eliminating one of the terms contributing to the leading coefficient in the asymptotic expansion of the defect. We demonstrate this new improved robust and reliable defect approach on three continuous Runge-Kutta methods of order 5, 6, and 8. We also plot the shape of defect curves and compare them with previous work. Numerical results on the 25 test problems of DETEST at a wide range of accuracy requests are presented as well.

 Title: Option Pricing with Regime Switching Lévy Processes Using Fourier Space Time Stepping Authors: Kenneth R. Jackson, Sebastian Jaimungal and Vladimir Surkov Date: September 2007 (earlier draft July 2007) Pages: 6 Note: Appears in the proceedings of The Fourth IASTED International Conference on Financial Engineering and Applications (FEA 2007) File: option_pricing_regime_switching_levy_fst_07.pdf

Abstract:

Although jump-diffusion and Lévy models have been widely used in industry, the resulting pricing partial integro-differential equation poses various difficulties for valuation. Diverse finite-difference schemes for solving the problem have been introduced in the literature. Invariably, the integral and diffusive terms are treated asymmetrically, large jumps are truncated and the methods are difficult to extend to higher dimensions. We present a new efficient transform approach for regime-switching Lévy models which is applicable to a wide class of path-dependent options (such as Bermudan, barrier, and shout options) and options on multiple assets.

 Title: Efficient Contouring of PDEs on Unstructured Meshes Authors: H.G. Moghaddam and W.H. Enright Date: 2007 Pages: 7 Note: ACM Trans. on Math. Soft., 34, Article 19, 25 pages. File: enm07.pdf

Abstract:

We introduce three fast contouring algorithms for visualizing the solution of Partial Differential Equations based on the PCI (Pure Cubic Interpolant). The PCI is a particular piecewise bicubic polynomial interpolant defined over an unstructured mesh. Unlike standard contouring approaches, our contouring algorithms do not need a fine structured approximation and work efficiently with the original scattered data. The basic idea is to first identify the intersection points between contour curves and the sides of each triangle and then draw smooth contour segments connecting these points. We compare these contouring algorithms with the built-in Matlab procedure and with other contouring algorithms. We demonstrate that our algorithms are both more accurate and faster than the others.

 Title: Physics-Based Simulations for Fluid Mixtures Author: Dongwoon Lee Date: March 2007 Pages: 58 Note: Research Paper, Computer Science Department, University of Toronto. File: DWLee.Research.Paper.2007.pdf

Abstract:

We develop a physics-based particle method to simulate various fluid mixture effects. A particle method is chosen over a grid-based method because we believe a particle method is more intuitive and better suited for handling physical and chemical interactions between fluids. Since a particle carries the physical attributes of the fluid (e.g, density and velocity), transfer of these attributes between particles can be computed easily using a particle method. Also, arbitrary shapes of the fluid mixture can be modeled based on the particles' spatial configuration, which is updated throughout the simulation.

 Title: Valuation of Forward Starting Basket Default Swaps Author: Wanhe Zhang Date: April 2007 Pages: 45 Note: Research Paper, Computer Science Department, University of Toronto. File: fwdbds.2007.pdf

Abstract:

A basket default swap (BDS) is a credit derivative with contingent payments that are triggered by a combination of default events of the reference entities. A forward-starting BDS is a basket default swap starting at a specified future time. In this paper, we study valuation methods for a forward-starting BDS. We begin by reviewing the popular factor copula model. The widely used Monte Carlo method and associated variance reduction techniques are surveyed. The analytical solution of a recursive algorithm is developed. Conditional on a specified common factor, we explore the possible combination of defaults during the life of the forward contract; under each scenario, we evaluate the object functions; we finish the valuation by computing the expectations of these object functions. The possible combination of defaults results in a large combinatorial problem. In order to overcome the inefficiency of the method outlined above, a more applicable approximation method that omits or interpolates the unimportant scenarios is proposed. Numerical results compare the accuracy and performance of these methods and illustrate the effect of contract parameters.

 Title: Fourier Space Time-stepping for Option Pricing with Lévy Models Authors: Kenneth R. Jackson, Sebastian Jaimungal and Vladimir Surkov Date: March 2007 Pages: 32 Note: Submitted to the Journal of Computational Finance. The link below is to a copy of the paper on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). File: Link to the paper on the SSRN

Abstract:
Jump-diffusion and Lévy models have been widely used to partially alleviate some of the biases inherent in the classical Black-Scholes-Merton model. Unfortunately, the resulting pricing problem requires solving a more difficult partial-integro differential equation (PIDE) and although several approaches for solving the PIDE have been suggested in the literature, none are entirely satisfactory. All treat the integral and diffusive terms asymmetrically and are difficult to extend to higher dimensions. We present a new, efficient algorithm, based on transform methods, which symmetrically treats the diffusive and integrals terms, is applicable to a wide class of path-dependent options (such as Bermudan, barrier, and shout options) and options on multiple assets, and naturally extends to regime-switching Lévy models.

 Title: Valuation of Forward Starting CDOs Authors: Ken Jackson and Wanhe Zhang Date: February 2007 Pages: 15 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper will appear in the International Journal of Computer Mathematics File: fwdcdo.2007.pdf

Abstract:
A forward starting CDO is a single tranche CDO with a specified premium starting at a specified future time. Pricing and hedging forward starting CDOs has become an active research topic. We present a method for pricing a forward starting CDO by converting it to an equivalent synthetic CDO. The value of the forward starting CDO can then be computed by the well developed methods for pricing the equivalent synthetic one. We illustrate our method using the industry-standard Gaussian-factor-copula model. Numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method.

 Title: Loss Distribution Evaluation for Synthetic CDOs Authors: Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Xiaofang Ma Date: February 2007 Pages: 26 File: JKM.paper1.pdf

Abstract:
Efficient numerical methods for evaluating the loss distributions of synthetic CDOs are important for both pricing and risk management purposes. In this paper we discuss several methods for loss distribution evaluations. We first develop a stable recursive method. Then the improved compound Poisson approximations proposed by Hipp are introduced. Finally, the normal power approximation method that has been used in actuarial science is described. The recursive method computes the loss distribution exactly, whereas the other two methods compute the loss distribution approximately. Numerical results based on these three and some known methods for synthetic CDO pricing are given.

 Title: On Convergence of Numerical Methods for Pricing Convertible Bonds Authors: Dongyi (Elena) Li Date: January 2007 Pages: 144 File: dongyi-07-msc.pdf

Abstract:

In this thesis two frameworks are considered to value convertible bonds with credit risk: the TF model (Tsiveriotis and Fernandes) and the AFV model (Ayache, Forsyth and Vetzal). Both models are associated with a pair of coupled partial differential equations (PDEs) with free boundary constraints. In practice, the projected overrelaxation method and the penalty method are widely used to solve such free-boundary value problems, and the Crank-Nicolson time-stepping scheme is adopted as the underlying discretization method to achieve quadratic precision. However, due to the complexity of the PDEs in these two models and discontinuities in practice present in the boundary conditions, only linear convergence is observed in many cases. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the difficulties related to convergence and stability when solving these coupled PDEs with the Crank-Nicolson scheme, and to suggest some modifications of the basic schemes to improve stability and restore quadratic convergence.

 Title: An Exponential Approximation to the Hockey Stick Function Authors: Ian Iscoe, Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Xiaofang Ma Date: March 2010 (replaces an earlier draft of January 2007) Pages: 24 Note: Submitted to the Journal of Applied Numerical Mathematics. An earlier version of this paper can be found here. File: IJKM.paper2.revised.pdf

Abstract:

The hockey stick (HS) function plays an important role in pricing and risk management of many financial derivatives. This paper considers approximating the HS function by a sum of exponentials. This enables the efficient computation of an approximation to the expected value of the HS function applied to a sum of conditionally independent nonnegative random variables, a task that arises in pricing many financial derivatives, CDOs in particular. The algorithm proposed by Beylkin and Monzón is used to determine the parameters of the exponential approximation to the hockey stick function. Theoretical properties of the approximation are studied and numerical results are presented.

 Title: Pricing Synthetic CDOs based on Exponential Approximations to the Payoff Function Authors: Ian Iscoe, Ken Jackson, Alex Kreinin and Xiaofang Ma Date: April 2011 (replaces an earlier draft of January 2007) Pages: 28 Note: Submitted to the Journal of Computational Finance. An earlier version of this paper can be found here. File: IJKM.paper3.revised.pdf

Abstract:

Correlation-dependent derivatives, such as Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) and Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO), are common tools for offsetting credit risk. Factor models in the conditional independence framework are widely used in practice to capture the correlated default events of the underlying obligors. An essential part of these models is the accurate and efficient evaluation of the expected loss of the specified tranche, conditional on a given value of a systematic factor (or values of a set of systematic factors). Unlike other papers that focus on how to evaluate the loss distribution of the underlying pool, in this paper we focus on the tranche loss function itself. It is approximated by a sum of exponentials so that the conditional expectation can be evaluated in closed form without having to evaluate the pool loss distribution. As an example, we apply this approach to synthetic CDO pricing. Numerical results show that it is efficient.

 Title: A Scattered Data Interpolant for the Solution of Three-Dimensional PDEs Authors: H.G. Moghaddam and W.H. Enright Date: 2006 Pages: 7 Note: Proceedings of ECCOMAS CFD 2006, TU Delft, The Netherlands, September 2006. File: enm06.pdf

Abstract:

Using a Differential Equation Interpolant (DEI), one can accurately approximate the solution of a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) at off-mesh points. The idea is to allocate a multi-variate polynomial to each mesh element and consequently , the collection of such poly- nomials over all mesh elements will define a piecewise polynomial approximation. In this paper we will investigate such interpolants on a three-dimensional unstructured mesh. As reported elsewhere, for a tetrahedron mesh in three dimensions, tensor product tri-quadratic and pure tri-quadratic interpolants are the most appropriate candidates. We will report on the effectiveness of these alternatives on some typical PDEs.

 Title: Robust Defect Control for RK Methods Using Efficiently Computed Optimal-order Interpolants Authors: W.H. Enright and W.B. Hayes Date: 2006 Pages: 19 Note: ACM Trans. on Math. Soft., 33, pp. 1-19. File: enh06.ps.gz

Abstract:

The quest for reliable integration of {\it initial value problems} (IVPs) for {\it ordinary differential equations} (ODEs) is a long-standing problem in numerical analysis. At one end of the reliability spectrum are fixed stepsize methods implemented using standard floating point, where the onus lies entirely with the user to ensure the stepsize chosen is adequate for the desired accuracy. At the other end of the reliability spectrum are rigorous interval-based methods, that can provide provably correct bounds on the error of a numerical solution. This rigour comes at a price, however: interval methods are generally 2-3 orders of magnitude more expensive than fixed stepsize floating-point methods. Along the spectrum between these two extremes lie various methods of different expense that estimate and control some measure of the local errors and adjust the stepsize accordingly. In this paper, we continue previous investigations into a class of interpolants for use in Runge-Kutta methods that have a defect function whose qualitative behaviour is asymptotically independent of the problem being integrated. In particular the point, in a step, where the maximum defect occurs as $h\rightarrow 0$ is known {\it a priori}. This property allows the defect to be monitored and controlled in an efficient and robust manner even for modestly large stepsizes. Our interpolants also have a defect with the highest possible order given the constraints imposed by the order of the underlying discrete formula. We demonstrate the approach on three Runge-Kutta methods of order 5, 6, and 8, and provide Fortran and preliminary {\it Matlab} interfaces to these three new integrators. We also consider how sensitive such methods are to roundoff errors. Numerical results for four problems on a range of accuracy requests are presented.

 Title: Verifying Approximate Solutions to Differential Equations Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2006 Pages: 9 Note: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (JCAM), 185, pp. 203-311. File: enr06.ps.gz

Abstract:

It is now standard practice in computational science for large scale simulations to be implemented and investigated in a problem solving environment (PSE) such as MATLAB or MAPLE. In such an environment, a scientist or engineer will formulate a mathematical model, approximate its solution using an appropriate numerical method, visualize the approximate solution and verify (or validate) the quality of the approximate solution. Traditionally we have been most concerned with the development of effective numerical software for generating the approximate solution and several efficient and reliable numerical libraries are now available for use within the most widely used PSEs. On the other hand, the visualization and verification tasks have received little attention, even though each often requires as much computational effort as is involved in generating the approximate solution. In this paper we will investigate the effectiveness of a suite of tools that we have recently introduced in the MATLAB PSE to verify approximate solutions of ordinary differential equations. We will use the notion of effectivity index', widely used by researchers in the adaptive mesh PDE community, to quantify the credibility of our verification tools. Numerical examples will be presented to illustrate the effectiveness of these tools when applied to a standard numerical method on two model test problems.

 Title: The Parallel Solution of ABD Systems Arising in Numerical Methods for BVPs for ODEs Author: Richard N. Pancer Date: August 2006 Pages: 330 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2006. File: pancer-06-phd.pdf

Abstract:

Many numerical algorithms for the solution of Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) contain significant components that can be parallelized easily, and recent investigations have shown that substantial speedups are attainable on machines with a modest number of processors. An important step in most of these algorithms – and often the most computationally-intensive step – is the numerical solution of an Almost Block Diagonal (ABD) system of linear algebraic equations. The parallelization of this step is not so straightforward as certain characteristics of the problem make it difficult to apply standard divide-and-conquer techniques in order to arrive at a stable parallel algorithm. In the past, several algorithms have been proposed for the parallel solution of the ABD system, but many are potentially unstable or offer only limited parallelism. The proper treatment of the ABD system has proven to be a challenge in the design of parallel BVP codes.

In this thesis we present three parallel algorithms for the numerical solution of ABD systems. A parallel algorithm for this problem can be up to M / log M times faster than the fastest sequential algorithm, where the fastest sequential algorithm requires M steps. Each parallel algorithm we present attains this theoretically optimal speedup if enough processors are available, and each can be adapted for use on architectures with fewer than the required number of processors. Two of the algorithms, SLF-QR and SLF-LU, were discovered independently by us and by S.J. Wright in the 1990s. Wright presented these algorithms and analyzed their stability in two papers in the 1990s, proving SLF-QR is stable and showing that SLF-LU is stable under certain assumptions. We provide some additional insight into the stability of SLF-LU, and extend the basic algorithms to make better use of available processors during the factorization stage in order to increase parallelism in the solution stage.

The third algorithm we propose, RSCALE, is based on a notably different numerical technique: eigenvalue rescaling. RSCALE uses fewer local operations and produces less fill-in than either of the other two algorithms. In addition, RSCALE is proven to be stable for a reasonable class of problems, and has been observed to be stable for a wide class of problems through extensive numerical testing.

RSCALE is approximately 2.2 times faster than SLF-QR. The efficiency of SLF-LU is dependent on its solution strategy and its speed can vary from problem to problem, but for most problems RSCALE is approximately 1.2 times faster than SLF-LU. Moreover, we show that a variant of SLF-LU is potentially unstable on a surprising number of randomly-generated, yet well-posed, linear problems, as well as on certain nonlinear problems commonly used to test BVP codes. Since these problems pose no difficulty for either of the other two algorithms, we believe that SLF-QR, not SLF-LU, may be RSCALE's nearest competitor in terms of both speed and reliability.

 Title: Optimal Quadratic and Cubic Spline Collocation on Nonuniform Partitions Authors: Christina C. Christara and Kit Sun Ng Date: 2006 Pages: 31 Note: Appeared in Computing, 76:3-4, 2006, pp. 227-257. File: DOI Keywords: spline collocation; second-order two-point boundary value problem; error bounds; optimal order of convergence; spline interpolation.

Abstract:

We develop optimal quadratic and cubic spline collocation methods for solving linear second-order two-point boundary value problems on non-uniform partitions. To develop optimal non-uniform partition methods, we use a mapping function from uniform to non-uniform partitions and develop expansions of the error at the non-uniform collocation points of some appropriately defined spline interpolants. The existence and uniqueness of the spline collocation approximations are shown, under some conditions. Optimal global and local orders of convergence of the spline collocation approximations and derivatives are derived, similar to those of the respective methods for uniform partitions. Numerical results on a variety of problems, including a boundary layer problem, and a non-linear problem, verify the optimal convergence of the methods, even under more relaxed conditions than those assumed by theory.

 Title: Adaptive Techniques for Spline Collocation Authors: Christina C. Christara and Kit Sun Ng Date: 2006 Pages: 19 Note: Appeared in Computing, 76:3-4, 2006, pp. 259-277. File: DOI Keywords: spline collocation; second-order two-point boundary value problem; error bounds; optimal order of convergence; adaptive grid; grid size estimator; error estimator; spline interpolation.

Abstract:

We integrate optimal quadratic and cubic spline collocation methods for second-order two-point boundary value problems with adaptive grid techniques, and grid size and error estimators. Some adaptive grid techniques are based on the construction of a mapping function that maps uniform to non-uniform points, placed appropriately to minimize a certain norm of the error. One adaptive grid technique for cubic spline collocation is mapping-free and resembles the technique used in COLSYS (COLNEW). Numerical results on a variety of problems, including problems with boundary or interior layers, and singular perturbation problems indicate that, for most problems, the cubic spline collocation method requires less computational effort for the same error tolerance, and has equally reliable error estimators, when compared to Hermite piecewise cubic collocation. Comparison results with quadratic spline collocation are also presented.

 Title: Pricing Convertible Bonds with Dividend Protection subject to Credit Risk Using a Numerical PDE Approach Author: Qingkai Mo Date: April 2006 Pages: 92 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2006. File: ccc/moqk-06-msc.pdf Keywords: convertible bond, dividend protection, credit risk, Conversion Ratio Adjustment, Dividend Pass-Thru, finite differences, Crank-Nicolson, Projected Successive Over-Relaxation (PSOR), penalty method.

Abstract: We develop a pricing model for convertible bonds with dividend protection subject to credit risk by extending the models developed by Tsiveriotis and Fernandes (TF), and by Ayache, Forsyth and Vetzal (AFV). We consider two techniques to incorporate the dividend protection feature: Conversion Ratio Adjustment and Dividend Pass-Thru. We apply finite difference methods to discretize the PDEs associated with our models, and study the Projected Successive Over-Relaxation (PSOR) and penalty methods to handle the free boundaries. We compare these two methods in terms of convergence rate, number of iterations per time step and computation time for pricing convertible bonds without dividends. Finally, we apply the penalty method, the better of the two methods, to solve the systems arising from our models for convertible bonds with dividend protection. We examine the convergence rates and discuss the difference between the results from the extended TF and AFV models, with both dividend protection techniques.

 Title: The PCI: A Scattered Data Interpolant for the Solution of Partial Differential Equations Authors: H.G. Moghaddam and W.H. Enright Date: 2005 Pages: 10 Note: Proceedings of Adaptive Modeling and Simulation 2005, (P. Diez and N.E. Wiberg eds.), pp. 243-252, Barcelona. File: enhg05.ps.gz

Abstract:

Most Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) that arise in practical applications do not have a closed form solution. In these cases, numerical methods can be used to approximate the solution at a discrete set of mesh points in the domain associated with the the problem definition. These approximations usually provide more accuracy at the mesh points than is available (using piecewise linear approximation, for example) at off-mesh points. Although many numerical methods have the capability of fixing the location of some or all of the mesh points, this can significantly affect the efficiency and accuracy of the computed solution. Since the best distribution of mesh points is usually non-uniform, when one wants to visualize the solution (one of the most common post-processing tasks), some extra data must be generated. Enright introduced the Differential Equation Interpolant (DEI) which approximates the solution of a PDE such that the approximations at off-mesh points have the same order of accuracy as those at mesh points.

For a two dimensional problem, the DEI is a piecewise bivariate polynomial interpolant. The number of unknown coefficients is determined by the degree and type of the interpolant (tensor product or pure) and might be greater than the number of independent linear constraints defined by the information provided by the PDE solver. Consequently, we might require extra independent constraints to uniquely determine the associated piecewise polynomial. With the DEI approach these extra constraints are based on almost satisfying the PDE at a prescribed set of 'collocation' points. The DEI generates more accurate but less smooth global approximations.

In the case that the underlying numerical method produces approximations on an unstructured mesh, the DEI can be considered to be a scattered data interpolant. Ramos and Enright introduced the Alternate Differential Equation Interpolant (ADEI), a piecewise polynomial interpolant associated with a scattered data set. Instead of choosing random points or fixed points, they developed an iterative algorithm to find suitable collocation points based on the magnitude of the coefficients of the resulting interpolant. Although the ADEI provides a relatively smooth surface, it can still suffer from the appearance of discontinuities. Moreover, finding a suitable set of collocation points may take a long time. We introduce the PCI to overcome these difficulties.

 Title: Tools for the Verification of Approximate Solutions to Differential Equations Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2005 Pages: 11 Note: in Handbook for Scientific Computation, (B. Einarsson ed.), SIAM Press, pp. 109-119. File: enr05c.ps.gz

Abstract:

Scientific computation is often carried out in general purpose problem solving environments (PSEs) such as as those associated with large scale, high performance simulations. When practitioners work in these environments it is essential that they have access to state-of-the-art numerical software and tools to visualize approximate solutions produced by such software. It is equally essential (although not yet standard practice) to have available tools that can be used to verify (or validate) that the approximate solution is consistent with the true solution of the underlying mathematical model. In this presentation we will identify a suite of tools that are being developed to address this need for the case where the underlying model is a system of ODEs or PDEs. The resulting suite of tools can be used to improve the practitioners confidence in the results and allow him to quantify the inherent reliability\index{reliability}/cost trade-offs that arise. The collection of generic tools are suitable for use with any numerical method and cover a range of cost/complexity. We will assume that the approximate solution is provided as a piecewise (possibly multivariate) polynomial on an arbitrary mesh. The tools we develop perform such tasks as measuring the size of the associated defect, estimating the global error, estimating the condition number and checking that a different method generates a consistent approximate solution. The application of these tools to two typical simulations are presented.

 Title: GIA-induced secular variations in the Earth's long wavelength gravity field: Influence of 3-D viscosity variations (short communication), Authors: Konstantin Latychev, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Mark E. Tamisiea, Jeroen Tromp, Christina C. Christara and Robert Moucha Date: November 2005 Pages: 6 Note: Published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 240, Issue 2, Pages 322-327 File: DOI link , journal page Keywords: geopotential harmonics, glacial isostatic adjustment, 3-D structure

Abstract:

Predictions of present day secular variations in the Earth's long wavelength geopotential driven by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) have previously been analyzed to infer the radial profile of mantle viscosity and to constrain ongoing cryospheric mass balance. These predictions have been based on spherically symmetric Earth models. We explore the impact of lateral variations in mantle viscosity using a new finite-volume formulation for computing the response of 3-D Maxwell viscoelastic Earth models. The geometry of the viscosity field is constrained from seismic-to-mographic images of mantle structure, while the amplitude of the lateral viscosity variations is tuned by a free parameter in the modeling. We focus on the zonal J_l harmonics for degrees l = 2, ..., 8 and demonstrate that large-scale lateral viscosity variations of two to three orders of magnitude have a modest, 5-10%, impact on predictions of J_2. In contrast, predictions of higher degree harmonics show a much greater sensitivity to lateral variation in viscosity structure. We conclude that future analyses of secular trends (for degree l > 2) estimated from ongoing (GRACE, CHAMP) satellite missions must incorporate GIA predictions based on 3-D viscoelastic Earth models.

 Title: An Efficient Algorithm Based on Quadratic Spline Collocation and Finite Difference Methods for Parabolic Partial Differential Equations Author: Tong Chen Date: September 2005 Pages: 92 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: ccc/tchen-05-msc.pdf Keywords: semi-explicit semi-implicit method, optimal order of convergence, Crank-Nicolson, relaxed conditions for stability

Abstract: An efficient algorithm which combines quadratic spline collocation methods (QSC) for the space discretization and classical finite difference methods (FDMs), such as Crank-Nicolson, for the time discretization to solve general linear parabolic partial differential equations has been studied. By combining QSC and finite differences, a form of the approximate solution of the problem at each time step can be obtained; thus the value of the approximate solution and its derivatives can be easily evaluated at any point of the space domain for each time step.
There are two typical ways for solving this problem: (a) using QSC in its standard formulation, which has low accuracy $\mathcal{O}(h^2)$ and low computational work. More precisely, it requires the solution of a tridiagonal linear system at each time step; (b) using optimal QSC, which has high accuracy $\mathcal{O}(h^4)$ and requires the solution of either two tridiagonal linear systems or an almost pentadiagonal linear system at each time step. A new technique is introduced here which has the advantages of the above two techniques; more precisely, it has high accuracy $\mathcal{O}(h^4)$ and almost the same low computational work as the standard QSC.

 Title: Pricing Convertible Bonds using Partial Differential Equations Author: Lucy Xingwen Li Date: September 2005 Pages: 81 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: lucy-05-msc.pdf Keywords: Coupon payments, call, put, convert, discontinuities, implicit methods, successive over-relaxation, penalty method

Abstract:

A Convertible Bond (CB) is a corporate debt security that gives the holder the right to exchange future coupon payments and principal repayment for a prescribed number of shares of equity. Thus, it has both an equity part and a fixed-income part, and may contain some additional features, such as callability and puttability.
In this paper, we study the model for valuing Convertible Bonds with credit risk originally developed by Kostas Tsiveriotis and Chris Fernandes (TF). The Convertible Bond is a derivative of the stock price, and the pricing model developed by TF is based on a free boundary value problem associated with a pair of parabolic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) with discontinuities at the time points when there is a coupon payment, or when the bond is converted, or when it is called back (purchased) by the issuer, or when it is put (sold) to the issuer. We explore the possible derivation of the TF model and study the convergence of several numerical methods for solving the free boundary value problem associated with the TF model. In particular, we consider the Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR) iteration and a penalty method for solving the linear complementarity problem used to handle the free boundary. Special emphasis is given to the effectiveness of the numerical scheme as well to the treatment of discontinuities.

 Title: Neumaier's Method for the Solution of Initial Value Problems for Stiff Ordinary Differential Equations Author: Annie Hsiao Chen Yuk Date: August 2005 Pages: 57 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: Yuk.05.msc.pdf Keywords: Stiff IVPs for ODEs, Validated Integration

Abstract:

Compared with standard numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs), validated methods not only compute a numerical solution to a problem, but also generate a guaranteed bound on the global error associated with the numerical solution. There have been significant developments in the field of validated numerical methods of IVPs over the past few decades. However, none of the validated methods developed to date are suitable for stiff IVPs for ODEs.

This thesis investigates the potential of Neumaier's validated method for stiff IVPs for ODEs. We show that Neuamier's result is a special case of Dahlquist's result. Our findings show that this method has promise as an effective validated method for stiff IVPs for ODEs, for problems where there is no wrapping effect.

 Title: On Taylor Model Based Integration of ODEs Authors: M. Neher, K. R. Jackson and N. S. Nedialkov Date: Original Draft August 2005; revised August 2006; accepted August 2006. Pages: 21 Note: A slightly modified version of this paper is published in the SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis, Vol. 45, No. 1, 2007, pp. 236-262. File: Taylor_Models_ODES_2006.pdf Keywords: Taylor model methods, verified integration, ODEs, IVPs

Abstract:

Interval methods for verified integration of initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) have been used for more than 40 years. For many classes of IVPs, these methods are able to compute guaranteed error bounds for the flow, where traditional methods provide only approximations to a solution. Overestimation, however, is a potential drawback of verified methods. For some problems, the computed error bounds become overly pessimistic, or the integration even breaks down. The dependency problem and the wrapping effect are particular sources of overestimations in interval computations.

Berz and his co-workers have developed Taylor model methods, which extend interval arithmetic with symbolic computations. The latter is an effective tool for reducing both the dependency problem and the wrapping effect. By construction, Taylor model methods appear particularly suitable for integrating nonlinear ODEs. We analyze Taylor model based integration of ODEs and compare Taylor model methods with traditional enclosure methods for IVPs for ODEs.

 Title: Glacial isostatic adjustment on 3-D Earth models: a finite-volume formulation Authors: Konstantin Latychev, Jerry X. Mitrovica, Jeroen Tromp, Mark E. Tamisiea, Dimitri Komatitsch, Christina C. Christara Date: May 2005 Pages: 24 Note: Published in Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 161, Issue 2, Pages 421-444 File: DOI link , journal page Keywords: crystal motions, finite volumes, glacial isostatic adjustment, 3-D viscoelastic Earth models, parallel computation, domain decomposition

Abstract:

 Title: Spline Collocation on Adaptive Grids and Non-Rectangular Domains Author: Kit Sun Ng Date: June 2005 Pages: 187 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: ngkit-05-phd.ps.gz Keywords: quadratic splines, cubic splines, optimal convergence, non-uniform grid, adaptive methods, gridsize estimator, error estimator, L-shaped domains, T-shaped domains, skipped grid, moving mesh PDE.

Abstract:

Optimal spline collocation is a computationally cost effective finite element method that has been relatively recently developed. Although there are many important results for optimal spline collocation, we believe the method can further be extended to solve a series of more relevant and difficult problems.

We first consider using optimal spline collocation on non-uniform partitions to solve one-dimensional linear second-order Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) that have solutions with regions of high variations, such as boundary layers. Optimal quadratic spline collocation (QSC) is extended to non-uniform partitions by using a mapping function from uniform to non-uniform partitions. Optimal cubic spline collocation (CSC) on non-uniform partitions is also examined. The formulation and analysis of the CSC methods are based, as in the QSC case, on a mapping function from uniform to non-uniform partitions. However, this method is converted into a mapping-free method and is integrated with adaptive techniques that include error and grid size estimators.

Spline collocation is then considered for solving two-dimensional linear second-order BVPs. We extend optimal spline collocation to solving BVPs on L- and T-shaped domains, which occur often in practice. The CSC method can handle general boundary conditions, which had previously never been done, but our approach requires a third step to achieve optimal convergence. We also consider two adaptive approaches for solving problems on rectangular domains whose solutions have rapid variations. As in the one-dimensional case, such problems present a significant challenge to obtain accurate approximations at minimal computational cost. We first implement a static method, which involves adding collocation points to regions where the solution has sharp variations, with CSC that uses skipped grids, which are grids that have several levels of refinement, in certain regions of the domain. An optimal skipped grid method is developed by converting the second-order BVP into a system of three first-order BVPs. We then implement a dynamic method, which involves moving the collocation points to regions where the solution has sharp variations, with CSC that incorporates the {\it Moving Mesh Partial Differential Equation} (MMPDE). The MMPDE method is further integrated into an adaptive method that can solve BVPs within a specific error tolerance.

 Title: Multigrid and Cubic Spline Collocation Methods for Advection Equations Author: Zheng Zeng Date: April 2005 Pages: 111 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: ccc/zengz-05-msc.ps.gz Keywords: Shallow water equations, semi-Lagrangian methods, algebraic elimination, analytic elimination, systems of PDEs

Abstract:

This thesis describes numerical methods for the solution of advection equations in one-dimensional space. The methods are based on combining the multigrid and cubic spline collocation (CSC) methodologies.
Multigrid methods for cubic splines are presented. Appropriate restriction and extension operators are developed for cubic splines that satisfy various boundary conditions (BCs), i.e., Dirichlet, Neumann, periodic and general BCs. The multigrid methods are applied to CSC equations arising from the discretization of one-dimensional second-order differential equations. The convergence analysis of a two-grid method integrated with a damped Richardson relaxation scheme as smoother shows the rate of convergence is equal to or faster than $1/2$ for a model second order equation with periodic BCs.
Multigrid methods for cubic splines are then extended to the solution of one-dimensional shallow water equations (SWEs). The SWEs are discretized in time with a semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit scheme and in space with CSC methods. At each time step, there are three different space discretization approaches: Analytic Elimination - Discretization (AED), Discretization -Algebraic Elimination (DAE), and Discretization - No Elimination (DNE). We discuss advantages and disadvantages of each, and develop new numerical methods based on multigrid and CSC for solving the SWEs discretized with either the AED or the DNE approaches. We compare our methods with Jacobi's iterative method applied to the same problems. Through comparison and convergence discussion, we show that our multigrid methods for CSC are convergent and efficient. The numerical results confirm our analysis.

 Title: DDVERK90: A User-Friendly Implementation of an Effective DDE Solver Author: Hossein Zivaripiran Date: April 2005 Pages: 70 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: hzp05.ps.gz Keywords: delay differential equations, Fortran 90 solver, user-friendly solver, embedded event location, template driver.

Abstract:

Delay differential equations(DDEs) provide powerful and rich mathematical models that have been proven to be useful in simulating some real life problems. The current publicly available DDE solvers are either very formidable to use (especially for new users) or designed to support only selected classes of problems.
In this thesis we have developed a new Fortran 90 DDE solver DDVERK90 that aims to combine the effectiveness of the Fortran 77 DDE solver DDVERK and the user-friendliness of the MATLAB ODE solvers. We have added the capability of embedded event location to facilitate many tasks that arise in applications. We have also introduced a new approach for classifying DDE problems that helps users to write driver programs to solve their problem very quickly. They do this by comparing their problem to other previously solved example problems in the same class and using the corresponding template' driver as a guide.

 Title: Software for Ordinary and Delay Differential Equations: Accurate Approximate Solutions are not Enough Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2005 Pages: 15 Note: Applied Numerical Mathematics (APNUM), 56, pp. 459-471, 2006. File: enr05b.pdf

Abstract:

Numerical methods for both ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and delay differential equations (DDEs) are traditionally developed and assessed on the basis of how well the accuracy of the approximate solution is related to the specified error tolerance on an adaptively-chosen, discrete mesh. This may not be appropriate in numerical investigations that require visualization of an approximate solution on a continuous interval of interest (rather than at a small set of discrete points) or in investigations that require the determination of the average' values or the extreme' values of some solution components. In this paper we will identify modest changes in the standard error-control and stepsize-selection strategies that make it easier to develop, assess and use methods which effectively deliver approximations to differential equations (both ODEs and DDEs) that are more appropriate for these type of investigations. The required changes will typically increase the cost per step by up to 40\%, but the improvements and advantages gained will be significant. Numerical results will be presented for these modified methods applied to two example investigations (one ODE and one DDE).

 Title: Method of Lines Solutions of Boussinesq Equations Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, W.E. Schiesser and Y. Ouellet Date: 2005 Pages: 17 Note: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics (JCAM), 183, pp. 327-342, 2005. File: heso05.pdf

Abstract:

A numerical solution procedure based on the method of lines for solving the Nwogu's one-dimensional extended Boussinesq equations is presented. The numerical scheme is accurate up to fifth order in time and fourth-order accurate in space, thus reducing all truncation errors to a level smaller than the dispersive terms retained by most extended Boussinesq models. Exact solitary wave solutions and invariants of motions recently derived by the authors are used to specify initial data for the incident solitary waves in the numerical model of Nwogu and for the verification of the associated computed solutions. The invariants of motions and several error measures are monitored in order to assess the conservative properties and the accuracy of the numerical scheme. The proposed method of lines solution procedure is general and can be easily modified to solve a wide range of Boussinesq-like equations in coastal engineering.

 Title: Exact Solutions and Conservation Laws for Generalized Quintic Regularized Long Wave Equations Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, W.E. Schiesser and J.J. Gottlieb Date: 2005 Pages: 10 Note: Journal of Nonlinear Analysis, 63, pp. 1425-1434, 2005. Also appeared in the Proceedings of the Fourth World Congress of Nonlinear Analysis, Orlando, June 2004. File: hesg05.pdf

Abstract:

A new model equation is proposed for simulating unidirectional wave propagation in nonlinear media with dispersion. This model equation is a one-dimensional evolutionary partial differential equation that is obtained by coupling the generalized Korteweg-de Vries (gKdV) equation, which includes a nonlinear term of any order and cubic dispersion, with the quintic Regularized Long Wave (qRLW) equation, which includes fifth order dispersion. Exact solitary wave solutions are derived for this model equation. These analytical solutions are obtained for any order of the nonlinear term and for any given values of the coefficients of the cubic and quintic dispersive terms. Analytical expressions for three conservation laws and for three invariants of motion for solitary wave solutions of this new equation are also derived.

 Title: On the use of arc length' and defect' for mesh selection for differential equations Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2005 Pages: 7 Note: to appear (2005) in Computing Letters (COLE). File: enr05.ps.gz

Abstract:

In this note we will consider mesh selection techniques for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and for partial differential equations (PDEs) based on arc length and defect. We assume we are trying to approximate $y(x)$ for $x \in [0, T]$ in the ODE case and $u(x, y)$ for $(x, y) \in \Omega$ in the PDE case. The two specific areas of application that we have in mind are the numerical solution of boundary value problems (BVPs) in ODEs and the numerical solution of PDEs when a method of lines (MOL) approach is employed. The approach we develop is applicable to a wider class of PDEs including mixed-order problems and 3D problems.

 Title: An Agent-Based Simulation of Double-Auction Markets Author: Ted Xiao Guo Date: March 2005 Pages: 75 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2005. File: Guo-05.msc.pdf Keywords: agent based simulation, financial markets, double-auction markets.

Abstract:

Agent-based simulation has emerged as a promising research alternative to the traditional analytical approach in studying financial markets. The idea behind agent-based simulation is to constructively model a market in a bottom-up fashion using articial agents. This thesis aims to accomplish four objectives. The first objective is to present a high-quality software platform that is capable of carrying out agent-based financial market simulations. The second objective is to simulate a double-auction market with this software platform, using homogeneous zero-intelligence agents. The simulation is based on the articial market model proposed by Smith, Farmer, Gillermot and Krishnamurthy (2003). The third objective is to study the microstructure properties of the simulated double-auction market. In particular, we investigate certain statistical properties for the mid-price, bid-ask spread and limit-order book. The fourth and the last objective is to explore and evaluate trading strategies associated with the time-constrained asset liquidation problem through computational agents.

 Title: Efficient Contouring on Unstructured Meshes Authors: Hassan Goldani Moghaddam Date: April 2004 Pages: 66 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2004. File: goldani04.ps.gz Keywords: interpolation, scattered data, visualization, PDE, contour, unstructured mesh

Abstract:
A PCI (Pure Cubic Interpolant) is a piecewise bicubic polynomial interpolant over an unstructured mesh based on the DEI (Differential Equation Interpolant) approach. It can approximate the solution of a PDE (Partial Differential Equation) at off-mesh points with the same order of accuracy as those provided by an underlying numerical PDE solver at mesh points. It satisfies the continuity property that is very important in the visualization area. In addition to continuity, the PCI is efficient in terms of time and accuracy. We compare the PCI with the ADEI (Alternate Differential Equation Interpolant) and some other DEI-based interpolants. Furthermore, we introduce three fast contouring algorithms based on the PCI and an underlying unstructured mesh. Unlike standard contouring functions, our contouring algorithms do not need a fine structured approximation and work efficiently with the original scattered data.

 Title: Exact Solutions of Extended Boussinesq Equations Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, W.E. Schiesser and Y. Ouellet Date: 2004 Pages: 10 Note: Numerical Algorithms 37, pp. 165-175. File: heso04.ps.gz

Abstract:

The problem addressed in this paper is the verification of numerical solutions of nonlinear dispersive wave equations such as Boussinesq-like systems of equations. A practical verification tool is to compare the numerical solution to an exact solution if available. In this work, we derive some exact solitary wave solutions and several invariants of motion for a wide range of Boussinesq-like equations using Maple software. The exact solitary wave solutions can be used to specify initial data for the incident waves in the Boussinesq numerical model and for the verification of the associated computed solution. When exact solutions are not available, four invariants of motions can be used as verification tools for the conservation properties of the numerical model.

 Title: Exact Solutions and Invariants of Motion for General types of Regularized Long Wave Equations Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, W.E. Schiesser and J.J. Gottlieb Date: 2004 Pages: 10 Note: Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, IMACS MATCOM. File: hesg04.ps.gz

Abstract:

New exact solitary wave solutions are derived for general types of the regularized long wave (RLW) equation and its simpler alternative, the generalized equal width wave (EW) equation, which are evolutionary partial differential equations for the simulation of one-dimensional wave propagation in nonlinear media with dispersion processes. New exact solitary wave solutions are also derived for the generalized EW-Burgers equation, which models the propagation of nonlinear and dispersive waves with certain dissipative effects. The analytical solutions for these model equations are obtained for any order of the nonlinear terms and for any given value of the coefficients of the nonlinear, dispersive and dissipative terms. Analytical expressions for three invariants of motion for solitary wave solutions of the generalized EW equation are also devised.

 Title: A Fast Shadowing Algorithm for High Dimensional ODE Systems Authors: Wayne Hayes and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: November 2004 Pages: 18 Note: A revised version of this paper appeared in SIAM J. Sci. Comput., Vol. 29, No. 4, 2007, pp. 1738-1758. File: DNA.pdf Keywords: Nonlinear dynamical systems, shadowing, reliable simulation.

Abstract:

Numerical solutions to chaotic dynamical systems are suspect because the chaotic nature of the problem implies that numerical errors are magnied exponentially with time. To bolster condence in the reliability of such solutions, we turn to the study of shadowing. An exact trajectory of a chaotic dynamical system lying near an approximate trajectory is called a shadow. Finding shadows of numerical trajectories of systems of ordinary dirential equations is very compute intensive, and until recently it has been infeasible to study shadows of higher-dimensional systems. This paper introduces several optimizations to previous algorithms. The optimizations collectively acheive an average speedup of almost 2 orders of magnitude with no detectable loss in ectiveness. The algorithm is tested on systems with up to 180 dimensions. Its application to large gravitational N-body integrations has already led to a deeper understanding of the reliability of galaxy simulations.

 Title: Rigorous High-Dimensional Shadowing Using Containment: The General Case Authors: Carmen Young, Wayne B. Hayes, Kenneth R. Jackson Date: September 2004 Pages: 14 Note: Submitted to the AIMS Conference on Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations File: YHJ.pdf Keywords: Nonlinear dynamical systems, shadowing, reliable simulation.

Abstract:

A shadow is an exact solution to an iterated map that remains close to an approximate solution for a long time. An elegant geometric method for proving the existence of shadows is called containment, and it has been proven previously in two and three dimensions, and in some special cases in higher dimensions. This paper presents the general proof using tools from dirential and algebraic topology and singular homology.

 Title: Valuation of Mortgage-Backed Securities in a Distributed Environment Authors: Vladimir Surkov Date: March 2004 Pages: 51 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2004. File: Surkov04msc.pdf Keywords: Valuation of Mortgage-Backed Securities, computational finance, Monte Carlo method, Quasi-Monte Carlo method, low-discrepancy sequences, Brownian bridge discretization, distributed computing environment, Microsoft .NET.

Abstract:

Valuation of Mortgage-Backed Securities, regarded as integration in high-dimensional space, can be readily performed using the Monte Carlo method. The Quasi-Monte Carlo method, by utilizing low-discrepancy sequences, has been able to achieve better convergence rates for computational finance problems despite analysis suggesting that the improved convergence comes into effect only at sample sizes growing exponentially with dimension. This may be attributed to the fact that the integrands are of low effective dimension and quasi-random sequence's good equidistribution properties in low dimensions allow for the faster convergence rates to be attained at feasible sample sizes. The Brownian bridge discretization is traditionally used to reduce the effective dimension although an alternate choice of discretization can produce superior results. This paper examines the standard Brownian bridge representation and offers a reparametrization to further reduce dimension. The performance is compared both in terms of improvement in convergence and reduced effective dimensionality as computed using ANOVA decomposition. Also, porting of the valuation algorithm to a distributed environment using Microsoft .NET is presented.

 Title: Validated Numerical Bounds on the Global Error for Initial Value Problems for Stiff Ordinary Differential Equations Authors: Chao Yu Date: September 2004 Pages: 50 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2004. File: chao_yu.msc.pdf Keywords: validated numerical method, initial value problem, ordinary differential equation

Abstract:

There are many standard numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Compared with these methods, validated methods for IVPs for ODEs produce bounds that are guaranteed to contain the true solution of a problem, if the true solution exists and is unique.

The main result of this thesis is a formula to bound the global error associated with the numerical solution of a stiff IVP for an ODE. We give the complete proof of this result. Moreover, we derive Dahlquist's formula and Neumaier's formula from this formula. We also give alternative (and possibly simpler) proofs of some known related results.

 Title: Towards a high-performance method for the biharmonic Dirichlet problem Authors: Jingrui Zhang Date: April 2004 Pages: 77 Note: Research paper (equivalent to M.Sc. Thesis), Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2004. File: ccc/jingrui-04-msc.ps.gz Keywords: spline collocation; fourth-order two-point boundary value problem; optimal order of convergence; FFT; GMRES; preconditioning; eigenvalues; eigenvectors

Abstract:
The biharmonic Dirichlet problem appears in many applications. Therefore, there is a lot of interest in developing high-performance methods for its solution. Two important components of performance are accuracy and efficiency. In this research, we combine a sixth order discretization method and a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)-based solver for the solution of the biharmonic Dirichlet problem.

The discretization of the problem uses the collocation methodology and quartic splines. Quartic Spline Collocation (Quartic SC) methods that produce sixth order approximations have been recently developed for the solution of fourth order Boundary Value Problems (BVPs). In this paper, we apply an adjustment to the quartic spline basis functions so that the Quartic SC matrix has more favorable properties. Particular attention is given to the one-dimensional harmonic problem. We study the properties of two Quartic SC matrices, more specifically, one that corresponds to Dirichlet and Neumann conditions (the standard harmonic problem) and another that corresponds to Dirichlet and second derivative conditions. The latter is solvable by FFTs and used as preconditioner for the first. We develop formulae for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the preconditioned matrix. We show that three iterations suffice to obtain convergence for the GMRES preconditioned method. Numerical experiments verify the effectiveness of the solver and preconditioner. We also discuss the application of the preconditioned GMRES method to the two-dimensional biharmonic Dirichlet problem.

 Title: A Survey of Shadowing Methods for Numerical Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations Authors: W. B. Hayes and K. R. Jackson Date: December 2003 Pages: 31 Note: A slightly modified version of this paper appears in the Journal Applied Numerical Mathematics, Vol. 53, 2005, pp. 299-321. File: hayes-shadowing-survey.ps.gz

Abstract:

A shadow is an exact solution to a set of equations that remains close to a numerical solution for a long time. Shadowing is thus a form of backward error analysis for numerical solutions to ordinary differential equations. This survey introduces the reader to shadowing with a detailed tour of shadowing algorithms and practical results obtained over the last 15 years, using the gravitational n-body problem as a running example.

 Title: Optimal Quadratic Spline Collocation on Non-Uniform Partitions Authors: Christina C. Christara, and Kit Sun Ng Date: June 2003, revised 2004 Pages: 28 Note: A revised version to appear in Computing File: ccc/QSCnonuni.ps.gz Keywords: spline collocation; second-order two-point boundary value problem; error bounds; optimal order of convergence; adaptive grid; grid size estimator; error estimator; spline interpolation.

Abstract:

Quadratic and Cubic Spline Collocation (QSC and CSC) methods of optimal orders of convergence have been developed for the solution of linear second-order two-point Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) discretized on uniform partitions. In this paper, we extend the optimal QSC methods to non-uniform partitions, and in a companion paper we do the same for CSC. To develop optimal non-uniform partition QSC methods, we use a mapping function from uniform to non-uniform partitions and develop expansions of the error at the non-uniform collocation points of some appropriately defined spline interpolants. The existence and uniqueness of the QSC approximations are shown, under some conditions. The $j$th derivative of the QSC approximation is $O(h^{3-j})$ globally, and $O(h^{4-j})$ locally on certain points, for $j \ge 0$.

 Title: Optimal Cubic Spline Collocation on Non-Uniform Partitions Authors: Christina C. Christara, and Kit Sun Ng Date: June 2003, revised 2004 Pages: 17 Note: A revised version to appear in Computing File: ccc/CSCnonuni.ps.gz Keywords: spline collocation; second-order two-point boundary value problem; error bounds; optimal order of convergence; adaptive grid; grid size estimator; error estimator; spline interpolation.

Abstract:

In a recent paper, non-uniform partition Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) methods of optimal order of convergence were developed for second-order two-point Boundary Value Problems (BVPs). In this paper, we develop optimal non-uniform Cubic Spline Collocation (CSC) methods. The formulation and analysis of the methods are based, as in the QSC case, on a mapping function from uniform to non-uniform partitions. However, the CSC method is turned into a mapping-free method. The $j$th derivative of the CSC approximation is $O(h^{4-j})$ globally, for $j \ge 0$, and $O(h^{5-j})$ locally on certain points, for $j > 0$. The non-uniform partition CSC method is integrated with adaptive grid techniques, and grid size and error estimators. One adaptive grid technique is based on the construction of a mapping function. Another is mapping-free and resembels the technique used in COLSYS (COLNEW) \cite{AMR95}. Numerical results on a variety of problems, including problems with boundary or interior layers, and singular perturbation problems indicate that, for most problems, the CSC method require less computational effort for the same error tolerance, and has equally reliable error estimators, when compared to Hermite piecewise cubic collocation (HPCC).

 Title: Fast Contouring of Solutions to Partial Differential Equations Authors: E.L. Bradbury and W.H. Enright Date: May 2003 Pages: 25 Note: This manuscript has been submitted for publication in ACM Trans. on Math. Soft., (Revised May 2003). File: be03.ps.gz

Abstract:

The application of Differential Equation Interpolants (DEIs) to the visualization of the solutions to Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) is investigated. In particular, we describe how a DEI can be used to generate a fine mesh approximation from a coarse mesh approximation; this fine mesh approximation can then be used by a standard contouring function to render an accurate contour plot of the surface. However, the standard approach has a time complexity equivalent to that of rendering a surface plot, $O(fm^2)$ (where $fm$ is the ratio of the width of the course mesh to the fine mesh). To address this concern three fast contouring algorithms are proposed which compute accurate contour lines directly from the DEI, and have time complexity at most $O(fm)$.

 Title: Rigorous Shadowing of Numerical Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations by Containment Authors: W. B. Hayes and K. R. Jackson Date: March 2003 Pages: 25 Note: Accepted March 2003 for publication by the SIAM Journal on Numerical Analysis. hayes-2001-shadowing is an earlier and longer version of this paper. File: hayes-2003-shadowing.ps.gz

Abstract:

An exact trajectory of a dynamical system lying close to a numerical trajectory is called a shadow. We present a general-purpose method for proving the existence of finite-time shadows of numerical ODE integrations of arbitrary dimension in which some measure of hyperbolicity is present and there is either 0 or 1 expanding modes, or 0 or 1 contracting modes. Much of the rigor is provided automatically by interval arithmetic and validated ODE integration software that is freely available. The method is a generalization of a previously published containment process that was applicable only to two-dimensional maps. We extend it to handle maps of arbitrary dimension with the above restrictions, and finally to ODEs. The method involves building n-cubes around each point of the discrete numerical trajectory through which the shadow is guaranteed to pass at appropriate times. The proof consists of two steps: first, the rigorous computational verification of a simple geometric property we call the inductive containment property; and second, a simple geometric argument showing that this property implies the existence of a shadow. The computational step is almost entirely automated and easily adaptable to any ODE problem. The method allows for the rescaling of time, which is a necessary ingredient for successfully shadowing ODEs. Finally, the method is local, in the sense that it builds the shadow inductively, requiring information only from the most recent integration step, rather than more global information typical of several other methods. The method produces shadows of comparable length and distance to all currently published results.

 Title: The cost/reliability trade-off in verifying approximate solutions to differential equations Authors: W.H. Enright Date: February 2003 Pages: 9 Note: Presented at Bari International workshop on computational codes:the technological aspects of mathematics, December 2002. (Also submitted for publication in special issue of the journal of computational methods in science and engineering -- JCMSE.) File: ebari03.ps.gz

Abstract:

It is now standard practice in computational science for large scale simulations to be implemented and investigated in a problem solving environment (PSE) such as MATLAB or MAPLE. In such an environment, a scientist or engineer will formulate a mathematical model, approximate its solution using an appropriate numerical method, visualize the approximate solution and verify (or validate) the quality of the approximate solution. Traditionally we have been most concerned with the development of effective numerical software for generating the approximate solution and several efficient and reliable numerical libraries are now available for use within the most widely used PSEs. On the other hand, the visualization and verification tasks have received little attention, even though each often requires as much computational effort as is involved in generating the approximate solution. In this paper we will investigate the effectiveness of a suite of tools that we have recently introduced in the MATLAB PSE to verify approximate solutions of ordinary differential equations. In particular we will identify and illustrate the inherent trade-off between reliability and efficiency that arises. We will use the notion of effectivity index', widely used by researchers in the adaptive mesh PDE community, to quantify the quality of our verification tools and illustrate the performance of these tools on a two test problems.

 Title: Exact Solutions of the Generalized Equal Width Wave Equation Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, W.E. Schiesser and J.J. Gottlieb Date: March 2003 Pages: 10 Note: To appear in Proceedings of Workshop on Wave Phenomena in Physics and Engineering: New Models, Algorithms, and Applications, Montreal, May 2003. File: hesg03.ps.gz

Abstract:

The equal width wave (EW) equation is a model partial differential equation for the simulation of one-dimensional wave propagation in nonlinear media with dispersion processes. The EW-Burgers equation models the propagation of nonlinear and dispersive waves with certain dissipative effects. In this work, we derive exact solitary wave solutions for the general form of the EW equation and the generalized EW-Burgers equation with nonlinear terms of any order. We also derive analytical expressions of three invariants of motion for solitary wave solutions of the generalized EW equation.

 Title: The Design and Implementation of Usable ODE Software Authors: W.H. Enright Date: December 2002 Pages: 13 Note: Numerical Algorithms 31, 1-4, pp. 125-137, 2002. File: enz02.ps.gz

Abstract:

In the last decade it has become standard for students and researchers to be introduced to state-of-the-art numerical software through a problem solving environment (PSE) rather than through the use of scientific libraries callable from a high level language such as Fortran or C. In this paper we will identify the constraints and implications that this imposes on the ODE software we investigate and develop. In particular the way a numerical solution' is displayed and viewed by a user dictates that new measures of performance and quality must be adopted. We will use the MATLAB environment and ODE software for initial value problems, boundary value problems and delay problems to illustrate the issues that arise and the progress that has been made. One of the major implications is the expectation that accurate approximations at off-mesh' points must be provided. Traditional numerical methods for ODEs have produced approximations to the underlying solution on an associated discrete, adaptively chosen mesh. In recent years it has become common for the ODE software to also deliver approximations at off-mesh values of the independent variable. Such a feature can be extremely valuable in applications and leads to new measures of quality and performance which are more meaningful to users and more consistently interpreted and implemented in contemporary ODE software. Numerical examples of the robust and reliable behaviour of such software will be presented and the cost/reliability trade-offs that arise will be quantified.

 Title: Quadratic Spline Galerkin Method for the Shallow Water Equations Authors: Anita T. Layton, Christina C. Christara, and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: November 2002 Pages: 30 File: sweqsg02.ps.gz Note: Submitted to Mathematics and Computers in Simulation Keywords: numerical weather prediction; finite element; semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit; Rossby stability; staggered grids

Abstract:

Currently in most global meteorological applications, the spectral transform method or low-order finite difference/finite element methods are used. The spectral transform method, which yields high-order approximations, requires Legendre transforms. The Legendre transforms have a computational complexity of $\mathcal O(N^3)$, where $N$ is the number of subintervals in one dimension, and thus render the spectral transform method unscalable. In this study, we present an alternative numerical method for solving the shallow water equations (SWEs) on a sphere in spherical coordinates. In this implementation, the SWEs are discretized in time using the two-level semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit method, and in space on staggered grids using the quadratic spline Galerkin method. We show that, when applied to a simplified version of the SWEs, the method yields a neutrally stable solution for the meteorologically significant Rossby waves. Moreover, we demonstrate that the Helmholtz equation arising from the discretization and solution of the SWEs should be derived algebraically rather than analytically, in order for the method to be stable with respect to the Rossby waves. These results are verified numerically using Boyd's equatorial wave equations \cite{boyd1} with initial conditions chosen to generate a soliton.

 Title: Optimal Quadratic Spline Collocation Methods for the Shallow Water Equations Authors: Anita T. Layton, Christina C. Christara, and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: November 2002 Pages: 38 File: sweqsc02.ps.gz Note: Submitted to Mathematics and Computers in Simulation Keywords: numerical weather prediction; finite element; semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit; Rossby stability; staggered grids

Abstract:

In this study, we present numerical methods, based on the optimal quadratic spline collocation (OQSC) methods, for solving the shallow water equations (SWEs) in spherical coordinates. A quadratic spline collocation method approximates the solution of a differential problem by a quadratic spline. In the standard formulation, the quadratic spline is computed by making the residual of the differential equations zero at a set of collocation points; the resulting error is second order, while the error associated with quadratic spline interpolation is fourth order locally at certain points and third order globally. The OQSC methods generate approximations of the same order as quadratic spline interpolation. In the one-step OQSC method, the discrete differential operators are perturbed to eliminate low-order error terms, and a high-order approximation is computed using the perturbed operators. In the two-step OQSC method, a second-order approximation is generated first, using the standard formulation, and then a high-order approximation is computed in a second phase by perturbing the right sides of the equations appropriately.

In this implementation, the SWEs are discretized in time using the semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit scheme, which allows large timesteps while maintaining numerical stability, and in space using the OQSC methods. The resulting methods are efficient and yield stable and accurate representation of the meteorologically important Rossby waves. Moreover, by adopting the Arakawa C-type grid, the methods also faithfully capture the group velocity of inertia-gravity waves.

 Title: Shadowing High-Dimensional Hamiltonian Systems: the Gravitational N-Body Problem Author: Wayne B. Hayes Date: November 2002 Pages: 4 Note: Physics Review Letters, Vol. 90, No. 5, 2003. File: sh-n-body-M1.ps.gz

Abstract:

A shadow is an exact solution to a chaotic system of equations that remains close to a numerically computed solution for a long time. Using a variable-order, variable-timestep integrator, we numerically compute solutions to a gravitational $N$-body problem in which many particles move and interact in a fixed potential. We then search for shadows of these solutions with the longest possible duration. We find that in "softened" potentials, shadow durations are sufficiently long for significant evolution to occur. However, in unsoftened potentials, shadow durations are typically very short.

 Title: Shadowing-Based Reliability Decay in Softened N-Body Simulations Author: Wayne B. Hayes Date: September 2002 Pages: 4 Note: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 587, No. 2, Part 2, 20 April 2003, pp. L59-L62. File: shadow-decay.ps.gz

Abstract:

A shadow of a numerical solution to a chaotic system is an exact solution to the equations of motion that remains close to the numerical solution for a long time. In a collisionless $n$-body system, we know that particle motion is governed by the global potential rather than by inter-particle interactions. As a result, the trajectory of each individual particle in the system is independently shadowable. It is thus meaningful to measure the number of particles that have shadowable trajectories as a function of time. We find that the number of shadowable particles decays exponentially with time as $e^{-\mu t}$, and that for $\eps\in [\sim 0.2,1]$ (in units of the local mean inter-particle separation $\bar n$), there is an explicit relationship between the decay constant $\mu$, the timestep $h$ of the leapfrog integrator, the softening $\eps$, and the number of particles $N$ in the simulation. Thus, given $N$ and $\eps$, it is possible to pre-compute the timestep $h$ necessary to acheive a desired fraction of shadowable particles after a given length of simulation time. We demonstrate that a large fraction of particles remain shadowable over $\sim$100 crossing times even if particles travel up to about 1/3 of the softening length per timestep. However, a sharp decrease in the number of shadowable particles occurs if the timestep increases to allow particles to travel further than 1/3 the softening length in one timestep, or if the softening is decreased below $\sim 0.2\bar n$.

 Title: Computation of Value-at-Risk: the Fast Convolution Method, Dimension Reduction and Perturbation Theory Author: Petter Wiberg Date: September 2002 Pages: 88 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2002 File: wiberg.phd.ps.gz

Abstract:

Value-at-risk is a measure of market risk for a portfolio. Market risk is the chance that the portfolio declines in value due to changes in market variables. This thesis is about the computation of value-at-risk for portfolios with derivatives and for models for returns that have a distribution with fat tails.

We introduce a new Fourier algorithm, the fast convolution method, for computing value-at-risk. The fast convolution method is different from other Fourier methods in that it does not require that the characteristic function of the portfolio returns be known explicitly. Our new method can therefore be used with more general return models. In the thesis we present experiments with three return models: the normal model, the asymmetric T model and a model using the non-parametric Parzen density estimator. We also discuss how the fast convolution method can be extended to compute the value-at-risk gradient, present a proof of convergence and illustrate the performance of the method with examples.

We develop and compare two methods for dimension reduction in the computation of value-at-risk. The goal of dimension reduction is to reduce computation time by finding a small model that captures the main dynamics of the original model. We compare the two methods for an example problem and conclude that the method based on mean square error is superior. Finally, we present an optimization example that illustrates that dimension reduction may reduce the time to compute value-at-risk while maintaining good accuracy.

We develop a perturbation theory for value-at-risk with respect to changes in the return model. By considering variational properties, we derive a first-order error bound and find the condition number of value-at-risk. We argue that the sensitivity observed in empirical studies is an inherent limitation of value-at-risk.

 Title: Quadratic Spline Collocation Revisited: Extension to Systems of Elliptic PDEs Authors: Christina C. Christara and Kit Sun Ng Date: July 2002 Pages: 32 Note: Depart. of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Technical Report 318/2001, rev. July 2002. File: ccc/sys.ps.gz

Abstract:

We revisit the optimal Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) methods for single elliptic PDEs developed in \cite{Chri94} and prove some new results, including a discrete maximum principle. We extend QSC to systems of two coupled linear second-order PDEs in two dimensions. The system of PDEs is treated as one entity; no decoupling is applied.
We study the matrix properties of the linear system arising from the discretization of systems of two PDEs by QSC. We give sufficient conditions under which the QSC linear system is uniquely solvable and develop analytic formulae for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the QSC matrix from $2 \times 2$ Helmholtz operators with constant coefficients.
Numerical results demonstrate that the QSC methods are optimal, that is, fourth order locally at certain points and third order globally, even for some problems that do not satisfy the conditions of the analysis. The QSC methods are compared to conventional second-order discretization methods and are shown to produce smaller approximation errors in the same computation time, while they achieve the same accuracy in less time.
The formulation of the optimal two-step QSC method for a $2 \times 2$ system of PDEs can be extended in a straightforward way to a $n \times n$ system of PDEs.

 Title: Computation of the Probability Density Function and the Cumulative Distribution Function of the Generalized Gamma Variance Model Author: Xiaofang Ma Date: April 2002 Pages: 77 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2002. File: ma-02-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:

Numerical methods for computing the probability density function (pdf) (satisfying a relative accuracy requirement) and the cumulative distribution function (cdf) (satisfying an absolute accuracy requirement) of the generalized Gamma variance model are investigated.

A hybrid method is developed to calculate the pdf. This hybrid method chooses between several basic methods to evaluate the pdf depending on the value of the risk factor and the values of the shape parameters. Extensive numerical experiments are performed to verify the robustness of the proposed hybrid method. Comparison with some existing methods for special cases suggests that this hybrid method is accurate. To improve the performance of the hybrid method, a strategy suggested by Alex Levin is adopted in the present program.

A method for computing the cdf is also developed. Numerical comparisons for several special cases are carried out to verify the correctness and the accuracy of the proposed method.

 Title: Exact Solutions of Extended Boussinesq Equations Authors: S. Hamdi, W.H. Enright, Y. Ouellet and W.E. Schiesser Date: December 2002 Pages: 10 Note: submitted to Numerical Algorithms, December 2002. File: heos02.ps.gz

Abstract:

The problem addressed in this paper is the verification of numerical solutions of nonlinear dispersive wave equations such as Boussinesq-like system of equations. A practical verification tool is to compare the numerical solution to an exact solution if available. In this work, we derive some exact solitary wave solutions and several invariants of motion for a wide range of Boussinesq-like equations using Maple software. The exact solitary wave solutions can be used to specify initial data for the incident waves in the Boussinesq numerical model and for the verification of the associated computed solution. When exact solutions are not available, four invariants of motions can be used as verification tools for the conservation properties of the numerical model.

 Title: Interpolation of Surfaces over Scattered Data Authors: G.A. Ramos and W.H. Enright Date: September 2001 Pages: 7 Note: Proceedings of IASTED, (M.H. Hamza, ed.), pp.219-224, Marbella Spain, September 2001, ACTA Press. File: er01.ps.gz

Abstract:

We investigate the performance of DEI, an approach [2] that computes off-mesh approximations of PDE solutions, and that can also be used as a technique for scattered data interpolation and surface representation. For the general case of unstructured meshes, we found it necessary to modify the original DEI. The resulting method, ADEI, adjusts the parameter of the interpolant, obtaining better performance. Finally we measure ADEI's performance using different sets of scattered data and compare its performance against two methods from the collection of ACM algorithms.

 Title: Hierarchichal Representation and Computation of Approximate Solutions in Scientific Simulations Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2001 Pages: 17 Note: in The Architecture of Scientific Software', (R. Boisvert and P. Tang eds.), pp. 301-316, Kluwer, Boston. File: ebt01.ps.gz

Abstract:

In many applications involving large scale scientific computing a massive amount of data is generated in a typical simulation. Such simulations generally require the numerical solution of systems of differential equations where the results are often generated remotely using special high-performance software and computer systems visualization tools. The visualization packages are usually run on local workstations and make use of colour, lighting, texture, sound and animation to highlight and reveal interesting characteristics or features of the approximate solution. This interactive' viewing of the data is the rendering' stage of the modeling process and it can be very selective and local in the sense that only a subset of the variables are rendered and then only in regions where something interesting is happening. The result is that, in many simulations, large amounts of data must be stored and shared in a distributed environment while only a very small fraction of this data will ever be viewed by anyone. In this paper we propose an approach, using a hierarchichal representation of the approximate solution, which will avoid the generation and storage of data that is not required.

 Title: Rigorous Shadowing of Numerical Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations by Containment Authors: W. B. Hayes and K. R. Jackson Date: December 2001 Pages: 41 Note: hayes-2003-shadowing is a shorter, revised version of this paper. File: hayes-2001-shadowing.ps.gz

Abstract:

An exact trajectory of a dynamical system lying close to a numerical trajectory is called a shadow. We present a general-purpose method for proving the existence of finite-time shadows of numerical ODE integrations of arbitrary dimension in which some measure of hyperbolicity is present and there is either 0 or 1 expanding modes, or 0 or 1 contracting modes. Much of the rigor is provided automatically by interval arithmetic and validated ODE integration software that is freely available. The method is a generalization of a previously published containment process that was applicable only to two-dimensional maps. We extend it to handle maps of arbitrary dimension with the above restrictions, and finally to ODEs. The method involves building n-cubes around each point of the discrete numerical trajectory through which the shadow is guaranteed to pass at appropriate times. The proof consists of two steps: first, the rigorous computational verification of a simple geometric property we call the inductive containment property; and second, a simple geometric argument showing that this property implies the existence of a shadow. The computational step is almost entirely automated and easily adaptable to any ODE problem. The method allows for the rescaling of time, which is a necessary ingredient for successfully shadowing ODEs. Finally, the method is local, in the sense that it builds the shadow inductively, requiring information only from the most recent integration step, rather than more global information typical of several other methods. The method produces shadows of comparable length and distance to all currently published results.

 Title: Dimension Reduction in the Computation of Value-at-Risk Authors: Claudio Albanese, Ken Jackson and Petter Wiberg Date: November 2001 Pages: 19 Note: Accepted May 2002 for publication in the Journal of Risk Finance File: dimred.ps.gz

Abstract:

Value-at-risk models can have many dimensions. We present two new algorithms for dimension reduction in value-at-risk algorithms with Delta-Gamma approximations. In the first method, we compute a reduced portfolio with a small mean square error for the residual and, in the second method, we use low rank approximations to find a reduced portfolio. The paper concludes with an example, estimating value-at-risk and hedging an option portfolio, that demonstrates that dimension reduction leads to large savings in computational time without sacrificing accuracy.

 Title: The Design and Implementation of an Object-Oriented Validated ODE Solver Authors: N. S. Nedialkov and K. R. Jackson Date: Original draft October 2001; Revised June 2002. Pages: 32 File: ned.software.01.ps.gz

Abstract:

Validated methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) produce bounds that are guaranteed to contain the true solution of a problem. These methods use interval techniques to enclose rounding errors, truncation errors, and uncertainties in the model.

We describe the design and implementation of VNODE, Validated Numerical ODE, which is an object-oriented solver for computing rigorous bounds on the solution of an IVP for an ODE. We have designed VNODE as a set of C++ classes, which encapsulate data structures and algorithms employed in validated methods for IVPs for ODEs.

In VNODE, new solvers can be constructed by choosing methods from sets of methods. In addition, part of a solver can be replaced by another one performing the same task. This enables the user to isolate and compare methods implementing the same part of a solver. Moreover, a new method can be added to VNODE by encapsulating it in a class and deriving this class from an existing one.

We illustrate how to integrate with VNODE, how to construct new solvers, and how to extend this package with new methods.

 Title: Quartic-Spline Collocation Methods for Fourth-Order Two-Point Boundary Value Problems Author: Ying Zhu Date: April 2001 Pages: 73 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2001. File: ccc/yz-01-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:

This thesis presents numerical methods for the solution of general linear fourth-order boundary value problems in one dimension. The methods are based on quartic splines, that is, piecewise quartic polynomials with C^3 continuity, and the collocation discretization methodology with the midpoints of a uniform partition being the collocation points.
The standard quartic-spline collocation method is shown to be second order. Two sixth-order quartic-spline collocation methods are developed and analyzed. They are both based on a high order perturbation of the differential equation and boundary conditions operators. The one-step method forces the approximation to satisfy a perturbed problem, while the three-step method proceeds in three steps and perturbs the right sides of the equations appropriately.
The error analysis follows the Green's function approach and shows that both methods exhibit optimal order of convergence, that is, they are locally sixth order on the gridpoints and midpoints of the uniform partition, and fifth order globally. The properties of the matrices arising from a restricted class of problems are studied. Analytic formulae for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors are developed, and related to those arising from quadratic-spline collocation matrices. Numerical results verify the orders of convergence predicted by the analysis.

 Title: High-Order Spatial Discretization Methods for the Shallow Water Equations Author: Anita W. Tam Date: February 2001 Pages: 160 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2001. File: tam-01-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:

We present new numerical methods for the shallow water equations on a sphere in spherical coordinates. In our implementation, the equations are discretized in time with the two-level semi-Lagrangian semi-implicit (SLSI) method, and in space on a staggered grid with the quadratic spline Galerkin (QSG) and the optimal quadratic spline collocation (OQSC) methods. When discretized on a uniform spatial grid, the solutions are shown through numerical experiments to be fourth-order in space locally at the nodes and midpoints of the spatial grids, and third-order globally.

We also show that, when applied to a simplified version of the shallow water equations, each of our algorithms yields a neutrally stable solution for the meteorologically significant Rossby waves. Moreover, we demonstrate that the Helmholtz equation associated with the shallow water equations should be derived algebraically rather than analytically in order for the algorithms to be stable with respect to the Rossby waves. These results are verified numerically using Boyd's equatorial wave equations with initial conditions to generate a soliton.

We then analyze the performance of our methods on various staggered grids --- the A-, B-, and C-grids. From an eigenvalue analysis of our simplified version of the shallow water equations, we conclude that, when discretized on the C-grid, our algorithms faithfully capture the group velocity of inertia-gravity waves. Our analysis suggests that neither the A- nor B-grids will produce such good results. Our theoretical results are supported by numerical experiments, in which we discretize Boyd's equatorial wave equations using different staggered grids and set the initial conditions for the problem to generate gravitation modes instead of a soliton. With both the A- and B-grids, some waves are observed to travel in the wrong direction, whereas, with the C-grid, gravity waves of all wavelengths propagate in the correct direction.

 Title: Hedging with Value-At-Risk Author: Claudio Albanese, Ken Jackson and Petter Wiberg Date: January 2001 Pages: 17 Note: File: vargrad.ps.gz

Abstract:

Methods to computing value-at-risk gradients with respect to portfolio positions have many applications. They include calculation of capital/reward efficient frontiers, hedging of derivative portfolios and optimal replication. We present a new algorithm for computing value-at-risk and its gradients. If the return can be decomposed as a sum of independent portfolio marginals, the pay-off distribution can be computed with multiple convolutions. This principal-component-type decomposition is also useful for calibrating fat-tailed distributions. We conclude with two applications of hedging with value-at-risk.

 Title: Some Recent Advances in Validated Methods for IVPs for ODEs Author: N. S. Nedialkov and K. R. Jackson Date: January 2001 Pages: 7 Note: To appear in the Proceedings of the International Minisymposium on Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computations, 8-11 April 2001, Borovets, Bulgaria. File: ned.bg.01.ps.gz

Abstract:

We present an overview of interval Taylor series (ITS) methods for IVPs for ODEs and discuss some recent advances in the theory of validated methods for IVPs for ODEs, such as, an interval Hermite-Obreschkoff (IHO) scheme, the stability of ITS and IHO methods, and a new perspective on the wrapping effect.

 Title: Rigorous Shadowing of Numerical Solutions of Ordinary Differential Equations by Containment Author: Wayne B. Hayes Date: January 2001 Pages: 87 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 2001. File: hayes-01-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:

An exact trajectory of a dynamical system lying close to a numerical trajectory is called a shadow. We present a general-purpose method for proving the existence of finite-time shadows of numerical ODE integrations of arbitrary dimension in which some measure of hyperbolicity is present and there is either 0 or 1 expanding modes, or 0 or 1 contracting modes. Much of the rigor is provided automatically by interval arithmetic and validated ODE integration software that is freely available. The method is a generalization of a previously published containment process that was applicable only to two-dimensional maps. We extend it to handle maps of arbitrary dimension with the above restrictions, and finally to ODEs. The method involves building n-cubes around each point of the discrete numerical trajectory through which the shadow is guaranteed to pass at appropriate times. The proof consists of two steps: first, the rigorous computational verification of an inductive containment property; and second, a simple geometric argument showing that this property implies the existence of a shadow. The computational step is almost entirely automated and easily adaptable to any ODE problem. The method allows for the rescaling of time, which is a necessary ingredient for successfully shadowing ODEs. Finally, the method is local, in the sense that it builds the shadow inductively, requiring information only from the most recent integration step, rather than more global information typical of several other methods. The method produces shadows of comparable length and distance to all currently published results.

 Title: Superconvergent Interpolants for Collocation Methods applied to mixed order BVODEs Authors: W.H. Enright and R. Sivasothinathan Date: 2000 Pages: 34 Note: A revised version of this paper appeared in ACM Trans. on Math. Soft.,26, 3, pp.323-35. File: er00.ps.gz

Abstract:

Continuous approximations to boundary value problems in ordinary differential equations (BVODEs), constructed using collocation at Gauss points, are more accurate at the mesh points than at off-mesh points. From these approximations, it is possible to construct improved continuous approximations by extending the high accuracy that is available at the mesh points to off-mesh points. One possibility is the {Bootstrap} approach, which improves the accuracy of the approximate solution at the off-mesh points in a sequence of steps until the accuracy at the mesh points and off-mesh points is consistent. A Bootstrap approach for systems of mixed order BVODEs is developed to improve approximate solutions produced by {COLNEW}, a Gauss collocation based software package. An implementation of this approach is discussed and numerical results presented which confirm that the improved approximations satisfy the predicted error bounds and are relatively inexpensive to construct.

 Title: Continuous Numerical Methods for ODEs with Defect Control Authors: W.H. Enright Date: 2000 Pages: 16 Note: Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 125 (2000), pp. 159-170. File: edc01.ps.gz

Abstract:

Over the last decade several general purpose numerical methods for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) have been developed which generate a continuous piecewise polynomial approximation that is defined for all values of the independent variable in the range of interest. For such methods it is possible to introduce measures of the quality of the approximate solution based on how well the piecewise polynomial satisfies the ODE. This leads naturally to the selection strategies in order to control the magnitude of the associated defect can be very effective and such methods are now being widely used. In this paper we will review the advantages of this class of numerical methods and present examples of how they can be effectively applied. We will focus on numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) and boundary value problems (BVPs) where most of the developments have been introduced but we will also discuss the implications and related developments for other classes of ODEs such as delay differential equations (DDEs) and differential algebraic equations (DAEs).

 Title: Fast Fourier Transform Solvers and Preconditioners for Quadratic Spline Collocation Authors: Christina C. Christara and Kit Sun Ng Date: November 2000 (rev. October 2001, February 2002) Pages: 33 Note: Depart. of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Technical Report 317/2000. A revised version to appear in BIT, 42:4 (December 2002). File: ccc/precond.ps.gz DOI: 10.1023/A:1021944218806 Journal: PDF file (fulltext), page

Abstract:

Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) methods of optimal order of convergence have been recently developed for the solution of elliptic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). In this paper, linear solvers based on Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) are developed for the solution of the QSC equations. The complexity of the FFT solvers is O(N^2 log N), where N is the gridsize in one dimension. These direct solvers can handle PDEs with coefficients in one variable or constant, and Dirichlet, Neumann and periodic boundary conditions, along at least one direction of a rectangular domain. General variable coefficient PDEs are handled by preconditioned iterative solvers. The preconditioner is the QSC matrix arising from a constant coefficient PDE. The convergence analysis of the preconditioner is presented. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the convergence rate is independent of the gridsize. The preconditioner is solved by FFT techniques, and integrated with one-step or acceleration methods, giving rise to asymptotically almost optimal linear solvers, with complexity O(N^2 log N). Numerical experiments verify the effectiveness of the solvers and preconditioners, even on problems more general than the analysis assumes. The development and analysis of FFT solvers and preconditioners is extended to QSC equations corresponding to systems of elliptic PDEs.

 Title: A New Perspective on the Wrapping Effect in Interval Methods for Initial Value Problems for Ordinary Differential Equations Authors: Nedialko S. Nedialkov and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: November 2000 Pages: 46 Note: A slightly modified version of this paper is published in the book "Perspectives on Enclosure Methods", Ulrich Kulisch, Rudolf Lohner and Axel Facius, editors, Springer-Verlag, 2001, pp. 219-264. File: ned.scan00.ps.gz

Abstract:

The problem of reducing the wrapping effect in interval methods for initial value problems for ordinary differential equations has usually been studied from a geometric point of view. We develop a new perspective on this problem by linking the wrapping effect to the stability of the interval method. Thus, reducing the wrapping effect is related to finding a more stable scheme for advancing the solution. This allows us to exploit eigenvalue techniques and to avoid the complicated geometric arguments used previously.

We study the stability of several anti-wrapping schemes, including Lohner's QR-factorization method, which we show can be viewed as a simultaneous iteration for computing the eigenvalues of an associated matrix. Using this connection, we explain how Lohner's method improves the stability of an interval method and show that, for a large class of problems, its global error is not much bigger than that of the corresponding point method.

 Title: Some Recent Advances in Validated Methods for IVPs for ODEs Authors: Kenneth R. Jackson and Nedialko S. Nedialkov Date: Revised August 2001 (original report November 2000) Pages: 23 Note: Accepted December 2001 for publication in the Journal of Applied Numerical Mathematics. File: numdiff9a.ps.gz

Abstract:

Compared to standard numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs), validated methods (often called interval methods) for IVPs for ODEs have two important advantages: if they return a solution to a problem, then (1) the problem is guaranteed to have a unique solution, and (2) an enclosure of the true solution is produced.

We present a brief overview of interval Taylor series (ITS) methods for IVPs for ODEs and discuss some recent advances in the theory of validated methods for IVPs for ODEs. In particular, we discuss an interval Hermite-Obreschkoff (IHO) scheme for computing rigorous bounds on the solution of an IVP for an ODE, the stability of ITS and IHO methods, and a new perspective on the wrapping effect, where we interpret the problem of reducing the wrapping effect as one of finding a more stable scheme for advancing the solution.

 Title: PMIRKDC: a Parallel Mono-Implicit Runge-Kutta Code with Defect Control for Boundary Value ODEs Authors: P.H. Muir, R.N. Pancer, K.R. Jackson Date: Original Draft September 2000; Revised January 2003. Pages: 34 Note: A slightly modified version of this paper appeared in Parallel Computing, Volume 29, Issue 6, June 2003, Pages 711-741. The following report is a longer version of this paper. File: parallel-mirkdc.ps.gz

Abstract:

We describe parallel software, PMIRKDC, for solving boundary value ordinary differential equations (BVODEs). This software is based on the package, MIRKDC, which employs mono-implicit Runge-Kutta schemes within a defect control algorithm. The primary computational costs involve the treatment of large, almost block diagonal (ABD) linear systems. The most significant feature of PMIRKDC is the replacement of sequential ABD software, COLROW, with new parallel ABD software, RSCALE, based on a parallel block eigenvalue rescaling algorithm. Other modifications involve parallelization of the setup of the ABD systems and solution interpolants, and defect estimation. Numerical results show almost linear speedups.

 Title: Runge-Kutta Software for the Parallel Solution of Boundary Value ODEs Authors: P.H. Muir, R.N. Pancer, K.R. Jackson Date: August 2000 Pages: 46 Note: The previous paper is a shorter version of this technical report. File: parallel-mirkdc-tr.ps.gz

Abstract:

In this paper we describe the development of parallel software for the numerical solution of boundary value ordinary differential equations (BVODEs). The software, implemented on two shared memory, parallel architectures, is based on a modification of the MIRKDC package, which employs discrete and continuous mono-implicit Runge-Kutta schemes within a defect control algorithm. The primary computational costs are associated with the almost block diagonal (ABD) linear systems representing the Newton matrices arising from the iterative solution of the nonlinear algebraic systems which result from the discretization of the ODEs. The most significant modification featured in the parallel version of the code is the replacement of the sequential ABD linear system software, COLROW, which employs alternating row and column elimination, with new parallel ABD linear system software, RSCALE, which is based on a recently developed parallel block eigenvalue rescaling algorithm. Other modifications are associated with the parallelization of the setup of the ABD systems, the setup of the approximate solution interpolants, and the estimation of the defect. The numerical results show that nearly optimal speedups can be obtained, and that substantial speedups in overall solution time are achieved, compared with the sequential version of MIRKDC.

 Title: Quadratic Spline Collocation Methods for Systems of Elliptic PDEs Author: Kit Sun Ng Date: April 2000 Pages: 67 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Departmnent, University of Toronto, 2000. File: ccc/ngkit-00-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
We consider Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) methods for solving systems of two linear second-order PDEs in two dimensions. Optimal order approximation to the solution is obtained, in the sense that the convergence order of the QSC approximation is the same as the order of the quadratic spline interpolant.

We study the matrix properties of the linear system arising from the discretization of systems of two PDEs by QSC. We give sufficient conditions under which the QSC linear system is uniquely solvable and the optimal order of convergence for the QSC approximation is guaranteed. We develop fast direct solvers based on Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) and iterative methods using multigrid or FFT preconditioners for solving the above linear system.

Numerical results demonstrate that the QSC methods are fourth order locally on certain points and third order globally, and that the computational complexity of the linear solvers developed is almost asymptotically optimal. The QSC methods are compared to conventional second order discretization methods and are shown to produce smaller approximation errors in the same computation time, while they achieve the same accuracy in less time.

 Title: An Effective High-Order Interval Method for Validating Existence and Uniqueness of the Solution of an IVP for an ODE Authors: N. S. Nedialkov, K. R. Jackson and J. D. Pryce Date: October 2000. (This is a revision of our original draft of December 1999.) Pages: 17 Note: Reliable Computing, Vol. 7, Issue 6, Nov. 2001, pp. 449-465. File: stepsize.99a.ps.gz

Abstract:

Validated methods for initial value problems for ordinary differential equations produce bounds that are guaranteed to contain the true solution of a problem. When computing such bounds, these methods verify that a unique solution to the problem exists in the interval of integration and compute a priori bounds for the solution in this interval. A major difficulty in this verification phase is how to take as large a stepsize as possible, subject to some tolerance requirement. We propose a high-order enclosure method for proving existence and uniqueness of the solution and computing a priori bounds.

 Title: Computing Rigorous Bounds on the Solution of an Initial Value Problem for an Ordinary Differential Equation Authors: Nedialko (Ned) Stoyanov Nedialkov Date: February 1999 Pages: 149 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1999. File: ned-99-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:

Compared to standard numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs), validated (also called interval) methods for IVPs for ODEs have two important advantages: if they return a solution to a problem, then (1) the problem is guaranteed to have a unique solution, and (2) an enclosure of the true solution is produced.

To date, the only effective approach for computing guaranteed enclosures of the solution of an IVP for an ODE has been interval methods based on Taylor series. This thesis derives a new approach, an interval Hermite-Obreschkoff (IHO) method, for computing such enclosures.

Compared to interval Taylor series (ITS) methods, for the same order and stepsize, our IHO scheme has a smaller truncation error and better stability. As a result, the IHO method allows larger stepsizes than the corresponding ITS methods, thus saving computation time. In addition, since fewer Taylor coefficients are required by IHO than ITS methods, the IHO method performs better than the ITS methods when the function for computing the right side contains many terms.

The stability properties of the ITS and IHO methods are investigated. We show as an important by-product of this analysis that the stability of an interval method is determined not only by the stability function of the underlying formula, as in a standard method for an IVP for an ODE, but also by the associated formula for the truncation error.

This thesis also proposes a Taylor series method for validating existence and uniqueness of the solution, a simple stepsize control, and a program structure appropriate for a large class of validated ODE solvers.

 Title: An Efficient Transposition Algorithm for Distributed Memory Computers Authors: C. C. Christara, X. Ding and K. R. Jackson Date: October 1999. (This is a revision of our drafts of January and April 1999.) Pages: 19 Note: Accepted for publication in the proceedings of the 13th Annual International Symposium on High Performance Computing Systems and Applications (HPCS'99), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 13-16 June 1999. Appeared as Chapter 38 in High Performance Computing Systems and Applications 1999, A. Pollard, D. J. K. Mewhort and D. F. Weaver eds. pp. 349-368, Kluwer Academic Publishers. File: transpose.99b.ps.gz

Abstract:
Data transposition is required in many numerical applications. When implemented on a distributed-memory computer, data transposition requires all-to-all communication, a time consuming operation. The Direct Exchange algorithm, commonly used for this task, is inefficient if the number of processors is large. We investigate a series of more sophisticated techniques: the Ring Exchange, Mesh Exchange and Cube Exchange algorithms. These data transposition schemes were incorporated into a parallel solver for the shallow-water equations. We compare the performance of these schemes with that of the Direct Exchange Algorithm and the MPI all-to-all communication routine, MPI_AllToAll. The numerical experiments were performed on a Cray T3E computer with 512 processors and on an ethernet-connected cluster of 36 Sun workstations. Both the analysis and the numerical results indicate that the more sophisticated Mesh and Cube Exchange algorithms perform better than either the simpler well-known Direct and Ring Exchange schemes or the MPI_AllToAll routine. We also generalize the Mesh and Cube Exchange algorithms to a d-dimensional mesh algorithm, which can be viewed as a generalization of the standard hypercube data transposition algorithm.

 Title: ODE Software that Computes Guaranteed Bounds on the Solution Authors: N. S. Nedialkov and K. R. Jackson Date: Original draft December 1998; Revised March 1999. Pages: 31 Note: Accepted as a chapter in the book "Advances in Software Tools for Scientific Computing", edited by H. P. Langtangen, A. M. Bruaset and E. Quak, Springer-Verlag, 1999. The title of the original draft was "Software Issues in Validated ODE Solving". File: SciTools.98.ps.gz

Abstract:
Validated methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) produce bounds that are guaranteed to contain the true solution of a problem. In this chapter, we briefly survey validated methods for IVPs for ODEs, discuss software issues related to the implementation of a validated ODE solver, and describe the structure of a package for computing rigorous bounds on the solution of an IVP for an ODE.

 Title: An Interval Hermite-Obreschkoff Method for Computing Rigorous Bounds on the Solution of an Initial Value Problem for an Ordinary Differential Equation Authors: N. S. Nedialkov and K. R. Jackson Date: February 1999 (original draft October 1998) Pages: 22 Note: Appeared in Reliable Computing, 5 (1999), pp. 289-310 and as a chapter in the book Developments in Reliable Computing, T. Csendes, editor, pages 289-310, Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 1999. File: ned.scan98.ps.gz

Abstract:
To date, the only effective approach for computing guaranteed bounds on the solution of an initial value problem (IVP) for an ordinary differential equation (ODE) has been interval methods based on Taylor series. This paper derives a new approach, an interval Hermite-Obreschkoff (IHO) method, for computing such enclosures. Compared to interval Taylor series (ITS) methods, for the same stepsize and order, our IHO scheme has a smaller truncation error, better stability, and requires fewer Taylor coefficients and high-order Jacobians.

The stability properties of the ITS and IHO methods are investigated. We show as an important by-product of this analysis that the stability of an interval method is determined not only by the stability function of the underlying formula, as in a standard method for an IVP for an ODE, but also by the associated formula for the truncation error.

 Title: Numerical Solution of the Shallow-Water Equations on Distributed Memory Systems Author: Xiaoliang (Lloyd) Ding Date: October 1998 Pages: 73 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Departmnent, University of Toronto, 1998. File: ding.98.msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
The shallow-water equations are often used as a mathematical model when numerical methods for solving weather or climate prediction problems are tested. This thesis studies the performance and scalability of numerical methods for the shallow-water equations on distributed memory systems. Time integration of the numerical methods is based on a two-time-level semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian scheme. To solve the Helmholtz problem that arises at each time-step, a fast direct solver based on FFTs is used. This technique requires a data transposition, which is a time consuming operation on a distributed memory system.

The data transposition requires an all-to-all type communication. The Direct Exchange algorithm, commonly used for this task, is inefficient if the number of processors is large. We investigate a series of more sophisticated techniques: the Ring Exchange, Mesh Exchange and Cube Exchange algorithms. We compare the performance of these techniques with that of the Message Passing Interface collective communication routine. We perform an isoefficiency analysis to measure the scalability of the parallel system. The numerical experiments are carried out on a Cray T3E with 512 processors and on an ethernet-connected cluster of 36 workstations.

Both the analysis and our numerical results indicate that the Cube Exchange and Mesh Exchange algorithms perform better than the other methods. However, even with the more sophisticated techniques, the parallel algorithm for the shallow-water equations remains essentially unscalable.

 Title: A Numerical Study of One-Factor Interest Rate Models Author: Zhong Ge Date: January 1998 Pages: 95 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Departmnent, University of Toronto, 1998. File: ge.98.msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
This thesis is concerned with a numerical study of one-factor interest rate models. First the basics of option pricing theory are outlined together with a simple derivation of the Heath-Jarrow-Morton (HJM) models. Then we discuss the term-structure-consistent models and their relation with the HJM models. We show that adaptive tree methods, namely, tree methods that include adaptive branching rules to incorporate the mean-reverting properties of the interest rates, are very stable and efficient. We apply the tree methods to five models: the Black-Karasinski model, the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) model, the cubic-variance model, the Ho-Lee model and the Hull-White model. Using the market data from the US market near the end of June, 1997, we test and compare the five models. Our results show that all the models except that of Ho-Lee produce similar prices for at-the-money or in-the-money options, but give very different prices for deep-out-of-the-money options. In particular, the more sensitive the volatility of a model is to the level of the interest rates, the higher prices the model produces for deep-out-of-the-money put options. Finally we look at the issue of negative interest rates in the Hull-White model and our results suggest that it is insignificant for today's US market.

 Title: Distributed Parallel Shooting for BVODEs Authors: Kwok L. Chow and Wayne H. Enright Date: November 1997 Pages: 57 Note: A revised version of this paper will appear in the ASTC High Performance Computing 1998 File: cs-97-310.ps.gz

Abstract:
Many important scientific problems can be formulated as systems of ordinary differential equations with two-point boundary value constraints (BVODE). Multiple shooting is one of the most widely used numerical techniques for solving BVODE problems. In this work, we present a new distributed parallel numerical algorithm for BVODEs which is based on multiple shooting. We investigate the numerical stability of this new distributed algorithm and identify difficulties that can arise. We propose a new parallel iterative refinement scheme to cope with some specific numerical difficulties identified in our investigation. Computational experience is presented to demonstrate the potential effectiveness of our approach.
Keywords: Distributed parallel algorithm, boundary value problems, multiple shooting

 Title: Fitting Random Stable Solar Systems to Titius-Bode Law Authors: Wayne Hayes and Scott Tremaine Date: October 1997 Pages: 12 Note: Submitted to ICARUS. File: bode.97.ps.gz

Abstract:
Simple "solar systems" are generated with planetary orbital radii r distributed uniformly random in log(r) between 0.2 and 50 AU. A conservative stability criterion is imposed by requiring that adjacent planets are separated by a minimum distance of k Hill radii, for values of k ranging from 1 to 8. Least-squares fits of these systems to generalized Bode laws are performed, and compared to the fit of our own Solar System. We find that this stability criterion, and other "radius-exclusion" laws, generally produce approximately geometrically spaced planets that fit a Titius-Bode law about as well as our own Solar System. We then allow the random systems the same exceptions that have historically been applied to our own Solar System. Namely, one gap may be inserted, similar to the gap between Mars and Jupiter, and up to 3 planets may be "ignored", similar to how some forms of Bode's law ignore Mercury, Neptune, and Pluto. With these particular exceptions, we find that our Solar System fits significantly better than the random ones. However, we believe that this choice of exceptions, designed specifically to give our own Solar System a better fit, gives it an unfair advantage that would be lost if other exception rules were used. We conclude that the significance of Bode's law is simply that stable planetary systems tend to be regularly spaced; this conclusion could be strengthened by the use of more stringent methods of rejecting unstable solar systems, such as long-term orbit integrations.

 Title: Superconvergent Interpolants for the Collocation Solution of BVODEs Authors: W. H. Enright and P. H. Muir Date: October 21, 1997 Pages: 42 Note: Address of P. H. Muir: Department of Mathematics and Computing Science Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3C3 Paul.Muir@stmarys.ca File: colintrp97.ps.gz

Abstract:
A long-standing open question associated with the use of collocation methods for boundary value ordinary differential equations is concerned with the development of a high order continuous solution approximation to augment the high order discrete solution approximation, obtained at the mesh points which subdivide the problem interval. It is well-known that the use of collocation at Gauss points leads to solution approximations at the mesh points for which the global error is O(h^{2k}), where k is the number of collocation points used per subinterval and h is the subinterval size. The collocation solution also yields a C^0 continuous solution approximation that has a global error of O(h^{k+1}). The discrete solution is thus said to be superconvergent. In this paper, we show how to augment the superconvergent discrete collocation solution to obtain efficient C^1 continuous "superconvergent" interpolants, whose global errors are O(h^{2k}). The key ideas are to use the theoretical framework of continuous Runge-Kutta schemes and to augment the collocation solution with inexpensive mono-implicit Runge-Kutta stages. Specific schemes are derived for k = 1,2,3, and 4. Numerical results are provided to support the theoretical analysis.
Keywords: Collocation, Runge-Kutta methods, boundary value ordinary differential equations, interpolation.
AMS Subject Classifications: 65L05, 65L10

 Title: The Parallel Solution of Almost Block Diagonal Systems Arising in Numerical Methods for BVPs for ODEs Authors: R. N. Pancer and K. R. Jackson Date: March 1997 Pages: 6 Note: In the Proceedings of the Fifteenth IMACS World Congress, Berlin, Germany, 1997, Vol. 2, pp. 57-62. File: imacs.97.ps.gz

Abstract:
Three parallel algorithms are presented for solving the Almost Block Diagonal (ABD) systems of linear algebraic equations that arise during the numerical solution of Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). Until recently, the solution of these systems has proven to be the execution-time bottleneck in the parallel implementation of most BVP codes. Several numerical examples are given comparing the three algorithms with respect to accuracy and speed.

 Title: Multigrid and Multilevel Methods for Quadratic Spline Collocation Authors: Christina C. Christara and Barry Smith Date: February 1997 Pages: 21 Note: Appeared in BIT 37:4 (1997), pp. 781-803. File: multig.ps.gz DOI: 10.1007/BF02510352 Journal: PDF file (fulltext), page

Abstract:
Multigrid methods are developed and analyzed for quadratic spline collocation equations arising from the discretization of one-dimensional second-order differential equations. The rate of convergence of the two-grid method integrated with a damped Richardson relaxation scheme as smoother is shown to be faster than 1/2, independently of the step-size. The additive multilevel versions of the algorithms are also analyzed. The development of quadratic spline collocation multigrid methods is extended to two-dimensional elliptic partial differential equations. Multigrid methods for quadratic spline collocation methods are not straightforward: because the basis functions used with quadratic spline collocation are not nodal basis functions, thus the design of efficient restriction and extension operators is nontrivial. Experimental results, with V-cycle and full multigrid, indicate that suitably chosen multigrid iteration is a very efficient solver for the quadratic spline collocation equations.

 Title: Validated Solutions of Initial Value Problems for Ordinary Differential Equations Authors: N. S. Nedialkov, K. R. Jackson and G. F. Corliss Date: February 1997 Pages: 40 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Applied Mathematics and Computation, 105 (1999), pp. 21-68. File: vsode.97.ps.gz

Abstract:
Compared to standard numerical methods for initial value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs), validated methods for IVPs for ODEs have two important advantages: if they return a solution to a problem, then (1) the problem is guaranteed to have a unique solution, and (2) an enclosure of the true solution is produced. The authors survey Taylor series methods for validated solutions of IVPs for ODEs, describe several such methods in a common framework, and identify areas for future research.

 Title: Scientific Computing by Numerical Methods Author(s): C. C. Christara and K. R. Jackson Date: 1996 Pages: 121 File: survey.pdf Note: A revised version of this article appeared in Encyclopaedia of Applied Physics, Vol 17, 1996, pp. 1-79, and in Mathematical Tools for Physicists, 2005, pp. 281-383.
Abstract:
Numerical methods are an indispensable tool in solving many problems that arise in applied physics. In this article, we briefly survey a few of the most common mathematical problems and review some numerical methods to solve them.
As can be seen from the table of contents, the topics covered in this survey are those that appear in most introductory numerical methods books. However, our discussion of each topic is more brief than is normally the case in such texts and we frequently provide references to more advanced topics that are not usually considered in introductory books.
We originally intended to include a section on the computation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, but, because of time and space constraints, we omitted it. The interested reader should consult an introductory numerical methods book, such as those listed in the last section, or an advanced text, such as \cite{Golub-Van-Loan, Parlett, Saad, Stewart, Wilkinson}.

 Title: Global Error Measures for Large N-body Simulations Authors: Wayne B. Hayes and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: October 1996 Pages: 3 Note: Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 12th Kingston meeting' on Theoretical Astrophysics: Computational Astrophysics, ASP Conference Series, Vol. ??, eds. D. A. Clarke & M. J. West, (San Francisco: ASP). File: shadowing-96b.ps.gz

Abstract:
Chaotic systems like the N-body problem display "sensitive dependence on initial conditions". This means that a small perturbation to a solution produces a new solution that diverges in phase space exponentially with time from the original solution. Since numerical errors introduce small perturbations, numerical solutions generally diverge exponentially from the true solution with the same initial conditions. However, sometimes there exists a true solution with slightly different initial conditions that remains close to the numerical solution. Such true solutions are called "shadows", and their existence implies that the numerical simulation may be dynamically valid in a very strong sense: the sense that the numerical solution closely follows some true solution. This method of global error analysis was initially studied in the context of gravitational N-body systems by Quinlan and Tremaine in 1992, where they studied a simplified system with one particle moving amongst 99 fixed ones. The present work tries to extend their work by studying shadowing for more realistic systems with more moving particles. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the shadowing property may hold better for collisionless systems than collisional ones, but results are still far from conclusive.

 Title: DIMSEMs -- Diagonally Implicit Single-Eigenvalue Methods for the Numerical Solution of Stiff ODEs on Parallel Computers Authors: R. F. Enenkel and K. R. Jackson Date: September 1996 Pages: 32 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Advances in Computational Mathematics, 7 (1997), pp. 97-133. File: dimsem.96.ps.gz

Abstract:
Our new general linear methods (GLMs) have several properties suited for the solution of stiff ODEs on parallel computers.

1. They are strictly diagonally implicit, allowing parallelism in the Newton iteration used to solve the nonlinear equations arising from the implicitness of the formula.
2. Only one eigenvalue of the stability matrix is non-zero, resulting in a solution free from contamination from spurious solutions corresponding to non-dominant, non-zero eigenvalues.
3. The methods have high stage order, avoiding the phenomenon of order reduction that occurs, for example, with some Runge-Kutta methods.
4. The methods are L-stable, making them suitable for stiff problems.
The thesis presents order bounds and derives DIMSEMs of orders 2--6, as well as a non-DIMSEM, L-stable class of diagonal methods of all orders. A fixed-order, variable-stepsize implementation of the DIMSEMs is described, including the derivation of local error estimators, and test results on both sequential and parallel computers is presented. The testing shows the DIMSEMs to be competitive with fixed-order versions of the popular solver LSODE on a practical test problem.

 Title: Remarks on the optimal convolution kernel for CSOR waveform relaxation Authors: Min Hu, Ken Jackson, Jan Janssen and Stefan Vandewalle Date: August 1996 Pages: 24 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Advances in Computational Mathematics, 7 (1997), pp. 135-156. File: csor.96.ps.gz

Abstract:
The convolution SOR waveform relaxation method is a numerical method for solving large-scale systems of ordinary differential equations on parallel computers. It is similar in spirit to the SOR acceleration method for solving linear systems of algebraic equations, but replaces the multiplication with an overrelaxation parameter by a convolution with a time-dependent overrelaxation function. Its convergence depends strongly on the particular choice of this function. In this paper, an analytic expression is presented for the optimal continuous-time convolution kernel and its relation to the optimal kernel for the discrete-time iteration is derived. It is investigated whether this analytic expression can be used in actual computations. Also, the validity of the formulae that are currently used to determine the optimal continuous-time and discrete-time kernels is extended towards a larger class of ODE systems.

 Title: Fast Fourier transform solvers for quadratic spline collocation Author: A. Constas Date: July 1996 Pages: 64 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1996. File: ccc/constas-96-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
The solution of linear systems arising from the discretisation of second order elliptic Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) defined in rectangular domains by solvers employing Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) is studied. The types of boundary conditions considered are homogeneous Dirichlet, periodic, homogeneous Neumann or combinations of these. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems are considered. Quadratic spline collocation methods are used for the discretisation of the BVPs. The FFT solvers are first developed for differential operators with constant coefficients and even order derivatives. Diagonal scalings of these solvers are then used as preconditioners for the solution of linear systems arising from the discretisation of general second order linear elliptic BVPs. Several acceleration methods are tested. Results from numerical experiments that demonstrate the asymptotically optimal convergence and computational performance of the FFT solvers are presented.

 Title: DIMSEMs -- Diagonally Implicit Single-Eigenvalue Methods for the Numerical Solution of Stiff ODEs on Parallel Computers Author: Robert F. Enenkel Date: 1996 Pages: 199 Note: Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1996. File: enenkel-96-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:
Our new general linear methods (GLMs) have several properties suited for the solution of stiff ODEs on parallel computers.

1. They are strictly diagonally implicit, allowing parallelism in the Newton iteration used to solve the nonlinear equations arising from the implicitness of the formula.
2. Only one eigenvalue of the stability matrix is non-zero, resulting in a solution free from contamination from spurious solutions corresponding to non-dominant, non-zero eigenvalues.
3. The methods have high stage order, avoiding the phenomenon of order reduction that occurs, for example, with some Runge-Kutta methods.
4. The methods are L-stable, making them suitable for stiff problems.
The thesis presents order bounds and derives DIMSEMs of orders 2--6, as well as a non-DIMSEM, L-stable class of diagonal methods of all orders. A fixed-order, variable-stepsize implementation of the DIMSEMs is described, including the derivation of local error estimators, and test results on both sequential and parallel computers is presented. The testing shows the DIMSEMs to be competitive with fixed-order versions of the popular solver LSODE on a practical test problem.

 Title: Fast Shadowing Algorithm for High Dimensional ODE Systems Author: Wayne Hayes and Kenneth R. Jackson Date: March 1996 Pages: 22 File: shadowing-96a.ps.gz

Abstract:
A true trarjectory of a chaotic dynamical system lying near an approximate trajectory is called a shadow. Finding shadows of numerical trajectories of ODE systems is very compute intensive and until recently it has been infeasible to study shadows of higher-dimensional systems. We study the shadowing algorithm introduced by Grebogi, Hammel, Yorke and Sauer in 1990 and extended to arbitrary Hamiltonian systems by Quinlan and Tremaine in 1992, and introduce several major optimizations resulting in speedups of over 100. This algorithm is used to shadow gravitational N body systems with up to 150 phase spacedimensions.

 Conference: Computational Finance Workshop Organizers: Peter Forsyth, Computer Science, University of Waterloo Ken Jackson, Computer Science, University of Toronto Date: Thursday, May 2, 1996 Note: Files associated with the Computational Finance Workshop held at the University of Toronto, May 2, 1996 Directory: comp.fin.workshop File: comp.fin.workshop/agenda

Theme:
Modern models in finance rarely admit analytical solutions. This workshop focused on computational methods for obtaining approximate solutions to financial models with application to such areas as: option pricing, portfolio selection, and risk management. Ten speakers from banks, consulting companies, software companies and universities presented their work on new models and numerical methods, including schemes based on Monte Carlo, Lattices, and Partial Differential Equations. The workshop was intended to increase awareness of advances in computational finance and to discover opportunities to improve practices or undertake further research.

 Title: Modeling Path Dependent Options Author: Yidong Liu Date: May 1996 Pages: 20 Note: Computational Finance Workshop, University of Toronto, May 2, 1996 File: comp.fin.workshop/liu.ps.gz

 Title: PDE Models of the Term -- Structure: Matching Yield and Volatility Curves Author: Ken Vetzal Date: May 1996 Pages: 17 Note: Computational Finance Workshop, University of Toronto, May 2, 1996 File: comp.fin.workshop/vetzal.ps.gz

 Title: Asset Allocation with Transaction Costs Author: Hailiang Yang Date: May 1996 Pages: 22 Note: Computational Finance Workshop, University of Toronto, May 2, 1996 File: comp.fin.workshop/yang.ps.gz

 Title: Robust Numerical Methods for PDE Models of Asian Options Author: Rob Zvan Date: May 1996 Pages: 14 (zvan.1.ps) and 8 (zvan.2.ps) Note: Computational Finance Workshop, University of Toronto, May 2, 1996 Files: comp.fin.workshop/zvan.1.ps.gz and comp.fin.workshop/zvan.2.ps.gz

 Title: Numerical Pricing of Path-Dependent Options Author: Yidong Liu Date: April 1996 Pages: 68 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1996. File: liu-96-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
Option contracts have become increasingly important in the field of finance since they possess characteristics that are attractive to both speculators and hedgers. One important problem is determining the "fair value" of an option efficiently and accurately.

In this thesis we first review basic option pricing theory and several popular numerical methods for option pricing. After discussing the analytic Black-Scholes formula for option prices, we focus on numerical methods for option pricing, including Monte Carlo methods, Tree methods and Finite Difference methods.

The main result of this thesis is an extension of the Hull-White tree method for pricing Asian Options. The original Hull-White method is applicable to options in which the averaging period is taken from the beginning to the end of the life of the option. We relax this restriction to any averaging period that ends with the life of the option. The Hull-White tree method is a special case of our method.

 Title: Runge-Kutta Research at Toronto Authors: T. E. Hull, W. H. Enright and K. R. Jackson Date: May 1996 (replaces an earlier draft of March 1996) Pages: 16 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Applied Numerical Mathematics, 22 (1996), pp. 225-236. File: rk.survey.96.ps.gz

Abstract:
The main purpose of this paper is to summarize the work on Runge-Kutta methods at the University of Toronto during the period 1963 to the present. To provide some background, brief mention is also made of related work on the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations, but, with just a few exceptions, specific references are given only if the referenced material has a direct bearing on Runge-Kutta methods and their application to a variety of problem areas.

There are several main themes. New Runge-Kutta formulas and new error control strategies are developed, leading for example to continuous methods and to new application areas such as delay, differential- algebraic and boundary value problems. Software design and implementation are also emphasized. And so is the importance of careful testing and comparing. Other topics, such as the notion of effectiveness, taking advantage of parallelism, and handling discontinuities are also discussed.

 Title: Improving the Efficiency of Runge-Kutta Methods for the Solution of BVPs for Higher-Order ODEs Author: Khalid Zuberi Date: January 1996 Pages: 96 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1996. File: zuberi-96-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
Runge-Kutta methods are often used to solve two-point boundary value problems (BVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs.) These methods are usually applied directly to first-order systems; to solve problems for higher-order ODEs, the differential equations are often reduced to an equivalent first-order system. We exploit the structure of the reduced system to construct an approximate Jacobian matrix that is significantly cheaper to construct for general higher order BVPs. Second-order ODEs are examined in detail, and a specialised linear system solver is suggested to provide additional computational savings. Numerical results on sample BVPs for second-order ODEs show significant computational savings with no loss of solution accuracy.

 Title: Numerical Solution of Retarded and Neutral Delay Differential Equations using Continuous Runge-Kutta Methods Author: Hiroshi Hayashi Date: 1996 Pages: 78 Note: Ph.D Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1996. File: hayashi-96-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:
In this thesis, we present a numerical method for solving delay differential equations (DDEs) and analysis for the numerical solution. We have developed the method by adapting recently developed techniques for initial value ordinary differential equations and developing a new approach to handle vanishing delays. We determine convergence properties for the numerical solution associated with our method. We first analyze such properties for retarded type DDEs and then the analysis is extended to the case of neutral type DDEs. We have developed an experimental Fortran code as a modified version of DVERK based on a 6th order continuous Runge-Kutta formula. An implementation of our method is described and numerical results for various kinds of DDEs are presented.

 Title: Interpolation and Error Control Schemes for Algebraic Differential Equations Using Continuous Implicit Runge-Kutta Methods Author: Hung Nguyen Date: 1995 Pages: 97 Note: Ph.D Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1995. File: nguyen-95-phd.ps.gz

Abstract:
This thesis presents alternative interpolation and error control schemes for index 1, index 2 and index 3 algebraic differential equations. We develop three corresponding schemes with interpolants based on the "bootstrapping" procedure and error controls based on the defect and algebraic residual of an underlying perturbed initial value problem. The test problems we use to illustrate our approach are the classical pendulum problem, the seven body problem and the driven cavity problem. The three implicit continuous Runge-Kutta formulas used as examples in our investigation are SDIRK(2), Gauss(2) and Gauss(3).

 Title: The numerical solution of large systems of stiff IVPs for ODEs Author: K. R. Jackson Date: September 1995 Pages: 17 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Applied Numerical Mathematics, 20 (1996), pp. 5-20. File: mol.95.ps.gz

Abstract:
The application of the method of lines to a system of time-dependent partial differential equations gives rise to a system of initial-value problems (IVPs) for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Such systems are often stiff and very large. The need to solve problems of this kind has affected the development of both formulas and codes for IVPs for ODEs. We survey some of these developments in this article.

 Title: Improving performance when solving high order and mixed order boundary value problems in ODEs Authors: Wayne H. Enright and Min Hu Date: March 1995 Pages: 9 File: high-order-BVP.ps.gz

Abstract:
Solving high order or mixed order boundary value problems by general purpose software often requires the system to be first converted to a larger equivalent first order system. The cost of solving such problems is generally $O(m^3)$ where $m$ is the dimension of the equivalent first order system. In this paper, we show how to reduce this cost by exploiting the special structure the equivalent' first order system inherits from the original associated mixed-order system. This technique applies to a broad class of boundary value methods. We illustrate the potential benefits by considering in detail a general purpose Runge-Kutta method and a multiple shooting method.

 Title: Efficient Shadowing of High Dimensional Chaotic Systems with the Large Astrophysical N-body Problem as an Example Author: Wayne Hayes Date: January 1995 Pages: 61 (thesis.ps) and 2 (errata.ps) Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1995. Directory: hayes-95-msc Files: hayes-95-msc/thesis.ps.gz and hayes-95-msc/errata.ps.gz

Abstract:
N-body systems are chaotic. This means that numerical errors in their solution are magnified exponentially with time, perhaps making the solutions useless. Shadowing tries to show that numerical solutions of chaotic systems still have some validity. A previously published shadowing refinement algorithm is optimized to give speedups of order 60 for small problems and asymptotic speedups of O(N) on large problems. This optimized algorithm is used to shadow N-body systems with up to 25 moving particles. Preliminary results suggest that average shadow length scales roughly as 1/N, i.e., shadow lengths decrease rapidly as the number of phase-space dimensions of the system is increased. Some measures of simulation error for N-body systems are discussed that are less stringent than shadowing. Many areas of further research are discussed both for high-dimensional shadowing, and for N-body measures of error.

 Title: DIMSEMs -- Diagonally Implicit Single-Eigenvalue Methods for the Numerical Solution of Stiff ODEs on Parallel Computers: A Preliminary Report Author: R. F. Enenkel and K. R. Jackson Date: January 1995 Pages: 138 File: dimsem.prelim.ps.gz

Abstract:
We describe a new class of General Linear Methods (GLMs) with the following properties: the methods are strictly diagonally implicit, allowing efficient parallel implementation; the stability matrix has no spurious eigenvalues (i.e., only one eigenvalue of the stability matrix is non-zero); the methods have high stage order, allowing them to retain their order on problems for which order reduction might otherwise be a problem; the methods are L-stable, making them suitable for the solution of stiff problems. As well as presenting some order barriers, we derive and test methods of orders 2-6.

 Title: Parallel solvers for spline collocation equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: January 1995 Pages: 35 Note: Appeared in Advances in Engineering Software, 27:1/2, 1996, pp. 71-89 File: ccc/civil.ps.gz

Abstract:
A variety of solvers for the spline collocation equations arising from the discretisation of elliptic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) are considered. The convergence properties of semi-iterative and Krylov subspace acceleration methods applied to the system of spline collocation equations are studied. The preconditioners tested include incomplete factorisation and SSOR for both the natural and multicolour orderings, domain decomposition based on Schur complement methods with nonoverlapping subdomains, or Schwarz methods with overlapping subdomains, and multigrid methods.

The parallelisation of some of the above iterative methods is studied and their advantages and disadvantages discussed. The communication requirements of the methods are discussed when the methods are implemented on distributed memory machines. Results which show that spline collocation methods are very competitive for the solution of PDEs are presented.

 Title: Precision Control and Exception Handling in Scientific Computing Author: K. R. Jackson and N. S. Nedialkov Date: 1995 Pages: 8 File: prec.except.ps.gz

Abstract:
This paper describes convenient language facilities for precision control and exception handling. Nedialkov has developed a variable-precision and exception handling library, SciLib, implemented as a numerical class library in C++. A new scalar data type, real, is introduced, consisting of variable-precision floating-point numbers. Arithmetic, relational, and input and output operators of the language are overloaded for reals, so that mathematical expressions can be written without explicit function calls. Precision of computations can be changed during program execution. The exception handling mechanism treats only numerical exceptions and does not distinguish between different types of exceptions.

The proposed precision control and exception handling facilities are illustrated by sample SciLib programs.

 Title: Precision Control and Exception Handling in Scientific Computing Author: Nedialko (Ned) Stoyanov Nedialkov Date: September 1994 Pages: 51 Note: M.Sc. Thesis, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of Toronto, 1994. File: ned-94-msc.ps.gz

Abstract:
We describe language facilities for precision control and exception handling and show how they can help to construct better numerical algorithms.

Precision of computations can be changed during program execution. The first two precisions are IEEE single and double. Increasing the precision provides at least two times more significant digits while the exponent range is significantly larger than double the exponent range of the previous precision.

The exception handling mechanism treats only numerical exceptions and does not distinguish between different types of numerical exceptions.

A variable-precision and exception handling library, SciLib, has been implemented in C++. A new scalar data type real is introduced consisting of variable-precision floating-point numbers. Arithmetic, relational, input and output operators of the language are overloaded for the real data type, so it can be used like any other scalar data type of C++.

The proposed precision control and exception handling are illustrated using SciLib. The examples show the benefits of using precision control to handle exceptions and to avoid catastrophic cancelations.

 Title: Interpolating Runge-Kutta methods for vanishing delay differential equations Authors: Wayne H. Enright and Min Hu Date: 1994 Pages: 34 Ref: Technical report 292/94, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto Note: The files int_ddrk6n.f.gz and int_ddvss6.f.gz contain FORTRAN format of the coefficients (in Appendix A and B of the report) of the special interpolants for the codes DDRK6N and DDVSS6 respectively. Files: cs-94-292.ps.gz, int_ddrk6n.f.gz and int_ddvss6.f.gz

Abstract:
In the numerical solution of delay differential equations by a continuous explicit Runge-Kutta method a difficulty arises when the delay vanishes or becomes smaller than the stepsize the method would like to use. In this situation the standard explicit sequential process of computing the Runge-Kutta stages become an implicit process and an iteration scheme must be adopted. We will consider several alternative iteration schemes and investigate their order.

 Title: An Application of Runge-Kutta Predictor-Corrector Methods To Two System of Hyperbolic Equations Arising in Optics Author: K. R. Jackson Date: July 1994 Pages: 3 Note: Appeared in the Proceedings of the Fourteenth IMACS World Congress, Atlanta GA, July, 1994, W. F. Ames ed., pp.~1329--1331 File: imacs.94.ps.gz

 Title: A Survey of the Explicit Runge-Kutta Method Authors: Wayne H. Enright, Desmond J. Higham, Brynjulf Owren and Philip W. Sharp Date: April 1995 Pages: 36 Ref: Technical report 291/94, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto Note: This is a REVISED version, dated April 1995 File: cs-94-291.ps.gz

Abstract:
Research in explicit Runge-Kutta methods is producing continual improvements to the original algorithms, and the aim of this survey is to relate the current state-of-the-art. In drawing attention to recent advances, we hope to provide useful information for those who apply numerical methods.

We describe recent work in the derivation of Runge-Kutta coefficients: classical'' general-purpose formulas, special'' formulas for high order and Hamiltonian problems, and continuous'' formulas for dense output. We also give a thorough review of implementation details. Modern techniques are described for the tasks of controlling the local error in a step-by-step integration, computing reliable estimates of the global error, detecting stiffness, and detecting and handling discontinuities and singularities. We also discuss some important software issues.

 Title: High performance computing of elliptic partial differential equations with spline collocation Author: C. C. Christara Date: June 1994 Pages: 13 Note: Appeared in Proceedings of the 1994 Computational Structures Technology conference (CST94), August 30 - September 1, 1994, Athens, Greece, sponsored by Civil-Comp, Vol. A, pp. 23-34 File: ccc/highperf.ps.gz

Abstract:
We consider a variety of solvers for the spline collocation equations arising from the discretisation of elliptic Partial Differential Equations. We study the convergence properties of semi-iterative and conjugate gradient acceleration methods applied to the system of spline collocation equations. The preconditioners tested include incomplete factorisation and SSOR for both the natural and multicolour orderings, domain decomposition based on Schur complement methods with nonoverlapping subdomains, or Schwarz methods with overlapping subdomains, and multigrid methods. We study the parallelisation of some of the above iterative methods and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The communication requirements of the methods are discussed when the methods are implemented on distributed memory machines. Results which show that spline collocation methods are very competitive for the solution of BVPs are presented.

 Title: An Analysis of the Order of Runge-Kutta Methods That Use an Iterative Scheme To Compute Their Internal Stage Values Authors: K. R. Jackson, A. Kvaerno and S. P. Norsett Date: May 1994 Pages: 53 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal BIT, 36 (1996), pp. 713-765. File: tr-94-1.ps.gz

Abstract:
We employ B-series to analyze the order of Runge-Kutta (RK) methods that use simple iteration, modified Newton iteration or full Newton iteration to compute their internal stage values. Our assumptions about the initial guess for the internal stage values cover a wide range of practical schemes. Moreover, the analytical techniques developed in this paper can be applied in many other similar contexts.

 Title: Quadratic spline collocation methods for elliptic partial differential equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: March 1994 (replaces Tech. Rep. DCS-135, 1990) Pages: 34 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in BIT, 34:1, 1994, pp. 33-61 File: ccc/cs-90-135.ps.gz DOI: 10.1007/BF01935015 Journal: PDF file (fulltext), page

Abstract:
We consider Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) methods for linear second order elliptic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). The standard formulation of these methods leads to non-optimal approximations. In order to derive optimal QSC approximations, high order perturbations of the PDE problem are generated. These perturbations can be applied either to the PDE problem operators or to the right sides, thus leading to two different formulations of optimal QSC methods. The convergence properties of the QSC methods are studied. Optimal $O(h sup 3-j )$ global error estimates for the $j$-th partial derivative are obtained for a certain class of problems. Moreover, $O(h sup 4-j )$ error bounds for the $j$-th partial derivative are obtained at certain sets of points. Results from numerical experiments verify the theoretical behaviour of the QSC methods. Performance results also show that the QSC methods are very effective from the computational point of view. The QSC methods have been implemented efficiently on parallel machines.

 Title: The Mathematical Basis for a New Polynomial Rootfinder with Quadratic Convergence Authors: T. E. Hull and R. Mathon Date: 1994 Pages: 16 File: hull-mathon-math-basis.ps.gz

Abstract:
Formulas developed originally by Weierstrass have been used since the 1960's by many others for the simultaneous determination of all the roots of a polynomial. Convergence to simple roots is quadratic, but individual approximations to a multiple root converge only linearly. However, it is shown here that the mean of such individual approximations converges quadratically to that root. This result, along with some detail about the behavior of such approximations in the neighborhood of the multiple root, suggests a new approach to the design of a polynomial rootfinder.

This paper first provides the relevant mathematical results:a short derivation of the formulas, convergence proofs, an indication of the behavior near a multiple root, and finally some error bounds. It then provides the outline of an algorithm based on these results, along with some preliminary experimental results to illustrate the major points, and to demonstrate some of the potential for a future software package. It should also be noted that the method is well-suited to take advantage of a parallel environment.

 Title: Coupled Mode Equations with Free Carrier Effects: A Numerical Solution Authors: N. G. R. Broderick, C. M. de Sterke and K. R. Jackson Date: May 1993 Pages: 15 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the J. Optical and Quantum Electronics, 26 (1994), pp. S219-S234. File: joqe-1.ps.gz

Abstract:
We present a numerical method for solving a set of coupled mode equations describing light propagation through a medium with a grating and free carriers. The carriers, which are excited by the light and decay exponentially, lower the refractive index, thus rendering the system nonlinear. The method is fourth-order accurate, efficient, stable, easy to implement and well suited for vector and parallel computers. In addition, it can be extended to handle diffusive carrier effects.

 Title: The Use of Butcher Series in the Analysis of Newton-Like Iterations in Runge-Kutta Formulas Authors: K. R. Jackson, A. Kvaerno and S. P. Norsett Date: April 1993 Pages: 17 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the journal Applied Numerical Mathematics, 15 (1994), pp. 341-356. File: anm-1.ps.gz

Abstract:
We consider the numerical solution of initial value problems for both ordinary differential equations and differential-algebraic equations by Runge-Kutta (RK) formulas. We assume that the internal stage values of the RK formula are computed by some iterative scheme for solving nonlinear equations, such as Newton's method. Using Butcher series and rooted trees, we give a complete characterization of the local error in the RK formula after k iterations of the scheme. Results are given for three specific schemes: simple iteration, the modified Newton iteration, and the full Newton iteration. The ideas developed in this paper, however, are easily applied to other iterative schemes of this kind.

 Title: A Runge-Kutta Type Boundary Value ODE Solver with Defect Control Authors: W.H. Enright and Paul Muir Date: June 1993 Pages: 41 File: cs-93-267.ps.gz

Abstract:
A popular approach for the numerical solution of boundary value ODE problems involves the use of collocation methods. Such methods can be naturally implemented so as to provide a continuous approximation to the solution over the entire problem interval. On the other hand, several authors have suggested as an alternative, certain subclasses of the implicit Runge-Kutta formulas, known as mono-implicit Runge-Kutta (MIRK) formulas, which can be implemented substantially more efficiently than the collocation methods. These latter formulas do not have a natural implementation that provides a continuous approximation to the solution; rather only a discrete approximation at certain points within the problem interval is obtained. However recent work in the area of initial value problems has demonstrated the possibility of generating inexpensive interpolants for any explicit Runge-Kutta formula. These ideas have recently been extended to develop interpolants for the MIRK formulas. In this paper, we describe our investigation of the use of continuous MIRK formulas in a code for the numerical solution of boundary value ODE problems. A primary thrust of this investigation is to consider defect control, based on these interpolants, as an alternative to the standard use of global error estimates, as the basis for termination and mesh redistribution criteria.

 Title: Implementing Complex Elementary Functions Using Exception Handling Authors: T. E. Hull, Thomas F. Fairgrieve and Ping Tak Peter Tang Date: 1993 Pages: 31 File: cmplx-elem-fcns.ps.gz

Abstract:
We develop algorithms for reliable and accurate evaluations of the complex elementary functions required in Fortran 77 and Fortran 90, namely cabs, csqrt, cexp, clog, csin and ccos. The algorithms are presented in a pseudo-code which has convenient exception handling facilities. A tight error bound is derived for each algorithm. Corresponding Fortran programs for an IEEE environment have also been developed to illustrate the practicality of the algorithms, and these programs have been tested very carefully to help confirm the correctness of the algorithms and their error bounds -- the results of these tests are included in the paper, but the Fortran programs are not.

 Title: The Practical Implications of Order Reduction on the Solution of Stiff Initial Value Problems using Runge-Kutta Formulas. Authors: C. MacDonald and W. Enright Date: June 1993 Pages: 14 Ref: Technical report 261/92, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto File: cs-92-261.ps.gz

Abstract:
Stability analysis of Runge-Kutta (RK) formulas was originally limited to linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs). More recently such analysis has been extended to include the behaviour of solutions to non-linear problems. This extension led to additional stability requirements for RK methods. Although the class of problems has been widened, the analysis is still restricted to a fixed stepsize. In the case of differential algebraic equations (DAEs), additional order conditions must be satisfied to achieve full classical ODE order and avoid possible order reduction'. In this case too, a fixed stepsize analysis is employed. Such analysis may be of only limited use in quantifying the effectiveness of adaptive methods on stiff problems.

In this paper we examine the phenomenon of order reduction' and its implications on variable-step algorithms. We introduce a global measure of order referred to here as the observed order' which is based on the average stepsize over the region of integration. This measure may be better suited to the study of stiff systems, where the stepsize selection algorithm will vary the stepsize considerably over the interval of integration. Observed order gives a better indication of the relationship between accuracy and cost. Using this measure, the observed order reduction' will be seen to be less severe than that predicted by fixed stepsize order analysis.

 Title: Parallel computation of partial differential equations on distributed memory machines Author: C. C. Christara Date: June 1992 Pages: 13 Note: Appeared in Advances in Computer Methods for Partial Differential Equations - VII, pp. 142-149 R. Vichnevetsky, D. Knight, G. Richter eds. File: ccc/paral.ps.gz

Abstract:
We review a number of parallel methods for the solution of elliptic Boundary Value Problems (BVPs). The methods considered are of coarse or medium grain parallelism and fixed grid discretisation. The cases where the degree of parallelism grows linearly with the size of the problem in all its dimensions or in fewer dimensions are considered. We also consider the parallelism in both the discretisation of the BVP phase and the solution of the resulting linear system phase. We discuss the assignment of data to processors and the communication requirements of the methods, when implemented on distributed memory machines. Based on a general model for a distributed memory machine, we develop a framework in order to classify the communication requirements of the methods considered. We study the communication complexity of the methods on a general distributed machine model, and present performance results on the iPSC/2 hypercube.

 Title: The Parallel Solution of ABD Systems Arising in Numerical Methods for BVPs for ODEs Authors: K. R. Jackson and R. N. Pancer Date: May 1992 Pages: 35 Ref: Technical report 255/91, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto File: cs-91-255.ps.gz

Abstract:
Many commonly used numerical methods for the solution of Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) contain significant components that can be parallelized easily, and recent investigations have shown that substantial speedups are attainable on machines with a modest number of processors. However, a stage in most of these methods is the numerical solution of an "Almost Block Diagonal" (ABD) system of linear algebraic equations. Several authors have proposed parallel algorithms for solving such systems; unfortunately most are potentially unstable or offer only limited parallelism. As a result, solving ABD systems has proven to be a bottleneck in the overall execution time of parallel BVP codes.

In recent papers, Wright presents new stable parallel algorithms for solving ABD systems. Each algorithm attains the theoretically optimal speedup for the problem if enough processors are available, and each can be adapted for use on architectures with fewer than the optimal number of processors. The algorithms in Section 3 of this paper were discovered independently and are similar to those investigated by Wright. Extensions to the basic algorithm are described which make better use of available processors during the decomposition stage in order to increase parallelism in the back-solve stage.

A new algorithm based on "eigenvalue rescaling" is presented in Section 4 which can be up to twice as fast as the fastest algorithm in Section 3. Numerical experiments show that this new algorithm does not exhibit the instability inherent in some earlier schemes. In addition, some insight supporting the numerical evidence is given.

 Title: Order Barriers and Characterizations for Continuous Mono-Implicit Runge-Kutta Schemes Authors: Paul Muir and Brynjulf Owren Date: December 1991 Pages: 22 Ref: Technical report 258/91, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto File: cs-91-258.ps.gz

Abstract:
The mono-implicit Runge-Kutta (MIRK) schemes, a subset of the family of implicit Runge-Kutta (IRK) schemes, were originally proposed for the numerical solution of initial value ODE's more than fifteen years ago. During the last decade, there has been considerable investigation of the use of these schemes in the numerical solution of boundary value ODE problems, where their efficient implementation suggests that they may provide a worthwhile alternative to the widely used collocation schemes. In fact, recent work in this area has seen the development of some software packages for boundary value ODE's based on these schemes. Unfortunately, these schemes lead to algorithms which provide only a discrete solution approximation at a set of mesh points over the problem interval, while the collocation schemes provide a natural continuous solution approximation. The availability of a continuous solution is important not only to the user of the software but also within the code itself, for example, in estimation of errors, defect control, mesh selection, and the provision of initial solution estimates for new meshes. An approach for the construction of a continuous solution approximation based on the MIRK schemes is suggested by recent work in the area of continuous extensions for explicit Runge-Kutta schemes for initial value ODE's. In this paper, we describe our work in the investigation of continuous versions of the MIRK schemes:
(i) we give some lower bounds relating the stage order to the minimal number of stages for general IRK schemes,
(ii) we establish lower bounds on the number of stages needed to derive continuous MIRK schemes of orders 1 through 6,
(iii) we provide characterizations of such schemes having a minimal number of stages for each of these orders.

 Title: Adaptive Linear Equation Solvers in Codes for Large Stiff Systems of ODEs Authors: K. R. Jackson and W. L. Seward Date: July 1991 Pages: 23 Ref: Research Report CS-91-33, Department of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 14 (1993), pp. 800-823. File: uw-cs-91-33.ps.gz

Abstract:
Iterative linear equation solvers have been shown to be effective in codes for large systems of stiff initial-value problems for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). While preconditioned iterative methods are required in general for efficiency and robustness, unpreconditioned methods may be cheaper over some ranges of the interval of integration. In this paper, we develop a strategy for switching between unpreconditioned and preconditioned iterative methods depending on the amount of work being done in the iterative solver and properties of the matrix being solved. This strategy is combined with a type-insensitive'' approach to the choice of formula used in the ODE code to develop a method that makes a smooth transition between nonstiff and stiff regimes in the interval of integration. We find that, as expected, for some large systems of ODEs, there may be a considerable saving in execution time when the type-insensitive approach is used. If there is a region of the integration that is mildly'' stiff, switching between unpreconditioned and preconditioned iterative methods also increases the efficiency of the code significantly.

 Title: Multicolour orderings and iterative methods for elliptic equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: June 1991 Pages: 11 Note: Appeared in Proceedings of the Supercomputing Symposium '91 (SS '91), June 3-5, 1991, Fredericton, NB, Canada, pp. 221-230 File: ccc/colour.ps.gz

Abstract:
In this paper we study the performance and parallel implementation of iterative methods applied to linear systems arising from the discretisation of linear elliptic Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) which are ordered according to multicolour orderings. We view the discretisation of a BVP as a process of generating a set of equations between stencils. These equations, when ordered according to some indexing of the stencil, result in a sparse linear system. We discuss the effect of indexing of the stencils on the sparsity pattern of the linear system, on the convergence of iterative methods applied to the system, as well as on the parallel implementation of these methods. We discuss which stencil indexings are preferable in order to minimise communication in message-passing parallel architectures.

 Title: Domain decomposition and incomplete factorisation methods for partial differential equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: May 1991 Pages: 11 Note: Appeared in Proceedings of the sixth Distributed Memory Computing Conference (DMCC6), April 28 - May 1, 1991, Portland, OR, U.S.A., pp. 369-377 File: ccc/iccg.ps.gz

Abstract:
In this paper we develop and study a method which tries to combine the merits of Domain Decomposition (DD) and Incomplete Cholesky preconditioned Conjugate Gradient method (ICCG) for the parallel solution of linear elliptic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) on rectangular domains. We first discretise the PDE problem, using Spline Collocation, a method of Finite Element type based on smooth splines. This gives rise to a sparse linear system of equations. The ICCG method provides us with a very efficient, but not straightforward parallelisable linear solver for such systems. On the other hand, DD methods are very effective for elliptic PDEs. A combination of DD and ICCG methods, in which the subdomain solves are carried out with ICCG, leads to efficient and highly parallelisable solvers. We implement this hybrid DD\-ICCG method on a hypercube, discuss its parallel efficiency, and show results from experiments on configurations with up to 32 processors. We apply a totally local communication scheme and discuss its performance on the iPSC/2 hypercube. A similar approach can be used with other PDE discretisation methods.

 Title: Nonlinear coupled mode equations on a finite interval: a numerical procedure Authors: C. M. de Sterke, K. R. Jackson and B. D. Robert Date: February 1991 Pages: 31 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the J. Optical and Quantum Electronics, 26 (1994), pp. S219-S234. File: osa-1.ps.gz

Abstract:
We present a numerical procedure to solve a set of nonlinear coupled mode equations on a finite interval. These equations originally arose in the study of the dynamics of gap solitons in nonlinear periodic media. Our procedure, which makes use of an implicit fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, is easy to implement, versatile, and very well suited for vectorization or parallelization.

 Title: A Survey of Parallel Numerical Methods for Initial Value Problems for Ordinary Differential Equations Author: K. R. Jackson Date: 1991 Pages: 6 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 27 (1991), pp. 3792-3797. File: ieee-trans-mag-1.ps.gz

Abstract:
The parallel solution of Initial Value Problems for Ordinary Differential Equations has become an active area of research during the past few years. We briefly survey the recent developments in this area, with particular emphasis on traditional forward-step methods that offer the potential for effective small-scale parallelism on currently existing machines.

 Title: Schur complement preconditioned conjugate gradient methods for spline collocation equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: May 1991 Pages: 14 Note: An earlier version of this paper appeared in Computer architecture news, 18:3, 1990, pp. 108-120, and Proceedings of the 1990 International Conference on Supercomputing, June 1990, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, sponsored by ACM File: ccc/scmpcg.ps.gz

Abstract:
We are interested in the efficient solution of linear second order Partial Differential Equation (PDE) problems on rectangular domains. The PDE discretisation scheme used is of Finite Element type and is based on quadratic splines and the collocation methodology. We integrate the Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) discretisation scheme with a Domain Decomposition (DD) technique. We develop DD motivated orderings of the QSC equations and unknowns and apply the Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) method for the solution of the Schur Complement (SC) system. Our experiments show that the SC-PCG-QSC method in its sequential mode is very efficient compared to standard direct band solvers for the QSC equations. We have implemented the SC-PCG-QSC method on the iPSC/2 hypercube and present performance evaluation results for up to 32 processors configurations. We discuss a type of nearest neighbour communication scheme, in which the amount of data transfer per processor does not grow with the number of processors. The estimated efficiencies are at the order of 90%.

 Title: Conjugate gradient methods for spline collocation equations Author: C. C. Christara Date: May 1991 Pages: 9 Note: An earlier version of this paper appeared in Proceedings of the fifth Distributed Memory Computing Conference (DMCC5), April 8-12, 1990, Charleston, SC, U.S.A., pp. 550-558 File: ccc/pcgcoef.ps.gz

Abstract:
We study the parallel computation of linear second order elliptic Partial Differential Equation (PDE) problems in rectangular domains. We discuss the application of Conjugate Gradient (CG) and Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) methods to the linear system arising from the discretisation of such problems using quadratic splines and the collocation discretisation methodology. Our experiments show that the number of iterations required for convergence of CG-QSC (Conjugate Gradient applied to Quadratic Spline Collocation equations) grows linearly with the square root of the number of equations. We implemented the CG and PCG methods for the solution of the Quadratic Spline Collocation (QSC) equations on the iPSC/2 hypercube and present performance evaluation results for up to 32 processors configurations. Our experiments show efficiencies of the order of 90%, for both the fixed and scaled speedups.

 Title: Derivation of Efficient Continuous Explicit Runge-Kutta Methods Authors: B. Owren and M. Zennaro Date: 1990 Pages: 17 Ref: Technical report 240/90, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto File: cs-90-240.ps.gz

Abstract:
Continuous Explicit Runge-Kutta methods with the minimal number of stages are considered. These methods are continuously differentiable if and only if one of the stages is the FSAL evaluation. A characterization of a subclass of these methods is developed for order 3, 4 and 5. It is shown how the free parameters of these methods can be used either to minimize the continuous truncation error coefficients or to maximize the stability region. As a representative for these methods the 5th order method with minimized error coefficients is chosen, supplied with an error estimation method, and analysed by using the DETEST software. The results are compared with a similar implementation of the Dormand-Prince 5(4) pair with interpolant, showing a significant advantage to the new method for the chosen problems.

 Title: The Potential for Parallelism in Runge-Kutta Methods -- Part 1: RK Formulas in Standard Form Authors: K. R. Jackson and S. P. Norsett Date: November 1990 Pages: 36 Ref: Technical report 239/90, Dept. Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 32 (1995), pp. 49-82. File: cs-90-239.ps.gz

Abstract:
We examine the potential for parallelism in Runge-Kutta (RK) methods based on formulas in standard one-step form. Both negative and positive results are presented. Many of the negative results are based on a theorem that bounds the order of a RK formula in terms of the minimum polynomial for its coefficient matrix. The positive results are largely examples of prototypical formulas which offer a potential for effective coarse-grain'' parallelism on machines with a few processors.

 Title: Using the IMSL MATH/LIBRARY in Numerical Methods Courses Authors: K. R. Jackson and T. E. Hull Date: April 1990 Pages: 13 Note: A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in the IMSL Technical Report Series, No. 9005. File: imsl-9005.ps.gz

Abstract:
This article describes our experience using the IMSL MATH/LIBRARY in five numerical methods classes taught to engineering students at the University of Toronto during the 1987-88 and 1988-89 academic years.