Composition of Runge–Kutta schemes #
Butcher's composition theorem: running one Runge–Kutta scheme for a step and then another corresponds, at the level of B-series, to the convolution (Butcher group) product of their characters. The composed scheme is the block tableau
A = [A₁ 0; 𝟙b₁ᵀ A₂], b = (b₁, b₂),
and its elementary weights satisfy
ψ_{comp} = ψ₁ ⋆ ψ₂ (Butcher, Numerical Methods for ODEs, Section 383;
Hairer–Lubich–Wanner III.1.4). The proof follows the stage-weight recursion:
first-block stages see only rk₁, while a second-block stage weight expands
as a sum over root-preserving cuts, pruned subtrees receiving the full rk₁
weight and the trunk evaluated by the rk₂ stage recursion.
The block tableau composing two Runge–Kutta schemes: one step of rk₁
followed by one step of rk₂.
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
First-block stages of the composed scheme reproduce rk₁.
The key composition identity: the stage weight of the composed
scheme at a second-block stage expands as a sum over root-preserving cuts,
with pruned subtrees receiving the full rk₁ weight and the trunk evaluated
by rk₂.
The elementary weight of the composed scheme as a sum over child cuts:
pruned subtrees carry the full rk₁ weight, the trunk carries the rk₂
weight (empty trunk contributing 1).
Butcher's composition theorem at the level of tree coefficients: the elementary weight of the composed scheme is the convolution of the two elementary weight characters.
Butcher's composition theorem: the B-series character of a composed Runge–Kutta scheme is the convolution (Butcher group) product of the two schemes' characters (Butcher, Numerical Methods for ODEs, Theorem 383A; Hairer–Lubich–Wanner III.1.4).