Innovative coupling of s-stage one-step and spectral methods for non-smooth solutions of nonlinear problems

The behavior of nonlinear dynamical systems arising in mathematical physics through numerical tools is a challenging task for researchers. In this context, an efficient semi-spectral method is proposed and applied to observe the robust solutions for the mathematical physics problems. Firstly, the space variable is approximated by the Vieta-Lucas polynomials and then the s-stage one-step method is applied to discretize the temporal variable which transfers the problem in the form $C^{n+1}=C^n+\Delta t\varphi \left(x,t,C^n,F\left(u^n\right)\right)$. Novel operational matrices of integer order are developed to replace the spatial derivative terms presented in the discussed problem. Related theorems are included in the study to validate the approach mathematically. The proposed semi-spectral schemes convert the considered nonlinear problem to a system of linear algebraic equations which is easier to tackle. We also accomplish an investigation on the error bound and convergence to confirm the mathematical formulation of the computational algorithm. To show the accuracy and effectiveness of the suggested computational method numerous test problems, such as the advection-diffusion problem, generalized Burger-Huxley, sine-Gordon, and modified KdV–Burgers’ equations are considered. An inclusive comparative examination demonstrates the currently suggested computational method in terms of credibility, accuracy, and reliability. Moreover, the coupling of the spectral method with the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method seems outstanding to handle the nonlinear problem to examine the precise smooth and non-smooth solutions of physical problems. The computational order of convergence (COC) is computed numerically through numerous simulations of the proposed schemes. It is found that the proposed schemes are in exponential order of convergence in the spatial direction and the COC in the temporal direction validates the studies in the literature.