The Discrete Ordinate /Pseudo-spectral Method: Review and Application from a Physicist's Perspective

Abstract

A discussion of the discrete ordinate method for solving differential equations is presented along with a number of examples that have application in various fields of physics. In particular, diffusion cooling, boundary layer meteorology and the diffusion of water in soils are studied. It is shown that the discrete ordinate method is considerably more accurate than finite difference methods of the same order. Results are presented for linear and nonlinear models, with a comprehensive analysis of the results and accuracies.