Fourier Spectral Methods for Nonlocal Models

Efficient and accurate spectral solvers for nonlocal models in any spatial dimension are presented. The approach we pursue is based on the Fourier multipliers of nonlocal Laplace operators introduced in Alali and Albin (Appl Anal :1–21, 2019 ). It is demonstrated that the Fourier multipliers, and the eigenvalues in particular, can be computed accurately and efficiently. This is achieved through utilizing the hypergeometric representation of the Fourier multipliers in which their computation in n dimensions reduces to the computation of a 1D smooth function given in terms of 2 F 3 . We use this representation to develop spectral techniques to solve periodic nonlocal time-dependent problems. For linear problems, such as the nonlocal diffusion and nonlocal wave equations, we use the diagonalizability of the nonlocal operators to produce a semi-analytic approach. For nonlinear problems, we present a pseudo-spectral method and apply it to solve a Brusselator model with nonlocal diffusion. Accuracy and efficiency of the spectral solvers are discussed.