Initial boundary value problems for the method of lines

Abstract

This paper treats the stability of the initial boundary value problem for the method of lines applied to hyperbolic and parabolic partial differential equations in one space dimension. The theory treats the case of variable coefficients and allows for very general boundary conditions. Several examples are given which illustrate the theory. The theory is analogous to that developed by Gustafsson, Kreiss, and Sundstrom for finite-difference methods.