High-order symplectic integration: an assessment Original Research Article

We report tests of some new symplectic integration routines of sixth and eighth order applied to the integration of classical trajectories for a triatomic model molecule. This system has mixed regular and chaotic phase space. Especially for long-lived trajectories, which are trapped in the stochastic layers of the phase space, the eighth-order integrators are very powerful. Among a great number of integrating routines tested by the authors they are the most efficient ones, i.e. they need the smallest computational expense at a prescribed accuracy level.