Noise propagation in hybrid models of nonlinear systems: The Ginzburg-Landau equation

Every physical phenomenon can be described by multiple models with varying degrees of fidelity. The computational cost of higher fidelity models (e.g., molecular dynamics simulations) is invariably higher than that of their lower fidelity counterparts (e.g., a continuum model based on differential equations). While the former might not be suitable for large-scale simulations, the latter are not universally valid. Hybrid algorithms provide a compromise between the computational efficiency of a coarse-scale model and the representational accuracy of a fine-scale description. This is achieved by conducting a fine-scale computation in subdomains where it is absolutely required (e.g., due to a local breakdown of a continuum model) and coupling it with a coarse-scale computation in the rest of a computational domain. We analyze the effects of random fluctuations generated by the fine-scale component of a nonlinear hybrid on the hybrid?s overall accuracy and stability. Two variants of the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation (GLE) and their discrete representations provided by a nearest-neighbor Ising model serve as a computational testbed. Our analysis shows that coupling these descriptions in a one-dimensional simulation leads to erroneous results. Adding a random source term to the GLE provides accurate prediction of the mean behavior of the quantity of interest (magnetization). It also allows the two GLE variants to correctly capture the strength of the microscale fluctuations. Our work demonstrates the importance of fine-scale noise in hybrid simulations, and suggests the need for replacing an otherwise deterministic coarse-scale component of the hybrid with its stochastic counterpart.