Sixth-order symmetric and symplectic exponentially fitted modified Runge–Kutta methods of Gauss type Original Research Article

The construction of symmetric and symplectic exponentially fitted modified Runge–Kutta (RK) methods for the numerical integration of Hamiltonian systems with oscillatory solutions is considered. In a previous paper [H. Van de Vyver, A fourth order symplectic exponentially fitted integrator, Comput. Phys. Comm. 176 (2006) 255–262] a two-stage fourth-order symplectic exponentially fitted modified RK method has been proposed. Here, two three-stage symmetric and symplectic exponentially fitted integrators of Gauss type, either with fixed nodes or variable nodes, are derived. The algebraic order of the new integrators is also analyzed, obtaining that they possess sixth-order as the classical three-stage RK Gauss method. Numerical experiments with some oscillatory problems are presented to show that the new methods are more efficient than other symplectic RK Gauss codes proposed in the scientific literature.