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The positive definiteness of discrete time-fractional derivatives is fundamental to the numerical stability (in the energy sense) for time-fractional phase-field models. A novel technique is proposed to estimate the minimum eigenvalue of discrete convolution kernels generated by the nonuniform L1, half-grid based L1 and time-averaged L1 formulas of the fractional Caputo's derivative. The main discrete tools are the discrete orthogonal convolution kernels and discrete complementary convolution kernels. Certain variational energy dissipation laws at discrete levels of the variable-step L1-type methods are then established for time-fractional Cahn-Hilliard model.They are shown to be asymptotically compatible, in the fractional order limit $\alpha\rightarrow1$, with the associated energy dissipation law for the classical Cahn-Hilliard equation. Numerical examples together with an adaptive time-stepping procedure are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods., Comment: 26 pages, 25 figures, 10 tables

The two-step backward differential formula (BDF2) with unequal time-steps is applied to construct an energy stable convex-splitting scheme for the Cahn-Hilliard model. We focus on the numerical influences of time-step variations by using the recent theoretical framework with the discrete orthogonal convolution kernels. Some novel discrete convolution embedding inequalities with respect to the orthogonal convolution kernels are developed such that a concise $L^2$ norm error estimate is established at the first time under an updated step-ratio restriction $0

An adaptive BDF2 implicit time-stepping method is analyzed for the phase field crystal model. The suggested method is proved to preserve a modified energy dissipation law at the discrete levels if the time-step ratios $r_k:=\tau_k/\tau_{k-1}<3.561$, a recent zero-stability restriction of variable-step BDF2 scheme for ordinary differential problems. By using the discrete orthogonal convolution kernels and the corresponding convolution inequalities, an optimal $L^2$ norm error estimate is established under the weak step-ratio restriction $0

A time-fractional Allen-Cahn equation with volume constraint is first proposed by introducing a nonlocal time-dependent Lagrange multiplier. Adaptive linear second-order energy stable schemes are developed for the proposed model by combining invariant energy quadratization and scalar auxiliary variable approaches with the recent L1$^{+}$ formula. The new developed methods are proved to be volume-preserving and unconditionally energy stable on arbitrary nonuniform time meshes. The accelerated algorithm and adaptive time strategy are employed in numerical implement. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithms are computationally efficient in multi-scale simulations, and appropriate for accurately resolving the intrinsically initial singularity of solution and for efficiently capturing the fast dynamics away initial time., Comment: 21 pages, 75 figures, 3 tables

A fourth-order compact scheme is proposed for a fourth-order subdiffusion equation with the first Dirichlet boundary conditions. The fourth-order problem is firstly reduced into a couple of spatially second-order system and we use an averaged operator to construct a fourth-order spatial approximation. This averaged operator is compact since it involves only two grid points for the derivative boundary conditions. The L1 formula on irregular mesh is considered for the Caputo fractional derivative, so we can resolve the initial singularity of solution by putting more grid points near the initial time. The stability and convergence are established by using three theoretical tools: a complementary discrete convolution kernel, a discrete fractional Gronwall inequality and an error convolution structure. Some numerical experiments are reported to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method., Comment: 20 pages

Adaptive second-order Crank-Nicolson time-stepping methods using the recent scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) approach are developed for the time-fractional Molecular Beam Epitaxial models with Caputo's derivative. Based on the piecewise linear interpolation, the Caputo's fractional derivative is approximated by a novel second-order formula, which is naturally suitable for a general class of nonuniform meshes and essentially preserves the positive semi-definite property of integral kernel. The resulting Crank-Nicolson SAV time-stepping schemes are unconditional energy stable on nonuniform time meshes, and are computationally efficient in multiscale time simulations when combined with adaptive time steps, such as are appropriate for accurately resolving the intrinsically initial singularity of solution and for efficiently capturing fast dynamics away from the initial time. Numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness of our methods., Comment: 23 pages, 23 figures

Two fast L1 time-stepping methods, including the backward Euler and stabilized semi-implicit schemes, are suggested for the time-fractional Allen-Cahn equation with Caputo's derivative. The time mesh is refined near the initial time to resolve the intrinsically initial singularity of solution, and unequal time-steps are always incorporated into our approaches so that an adaptive time-stepping strategy can be used in long-time simulations. It is shown that the proposed schemes using the fast L1 formula preserve the discrete maximum principle. Sharp error estimates reflecting the time regularity of solution are established by applying the discrete fractional Gr\"{o}nwall inequality and global consistency analysis. Numerical experiments are presented to show the effectiveness of our methods and to confirm our analysis., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures