Backward difference formula: The energy technique for subdiffusion equation

Abstract: Based on the equivalence of A-stability and G-stability, the energy technique of the six-step BDF method for the heat equation has been discussed in [Akrivis, Chen, Yu, Zhou, Math. Comp., Revised]. Unfortunately, this theory is hard to extend the time-fractional PDEs. In this work, we consider three types of subdiffusion models, namely single-term, multi-term and distributed order fractional diffusion equations. We present a novel and concise stability analysis of time stepping schemes generated by $k$-step backward difference formula (BDF$k$), for approximately solving the subdiffusion equation. The analysis mainly relies on the energy technique by applying Grenander-Szeg\"{o} theorem. This kind of argument has been widely used to confirm the stability of various $A$-stable schemes (e.g., $k=1,2$). However, it is not an easy task for the higher-order BDF methods, due to the loss the $A$-stability. The core object of this paper is to fill in this gap.