[Help-gsl] Stiff ODE's

[Periklis Rammos]

Hi all

I use GSL for a few months for solving plasma (MHD) problems.
I use rk8pd method, as examples are given in the manual.

My questions:

1) Is rk8pd an implicit or an explicit method?
Since the problem is a stiff one, and I need to compute as
close as possible to critical points, an implicit method is a must.
Or not?

2) If I need to switch to another method what is your suggestion?
Some colleagues have used Rosenbrock-Runge-Kutta and suggest it.
GSL offers a number of implicit methods, as described in the manual.
Is Rosenbrock-Runge-Kutta also included?

Unfortunately humble users of numeric libraries cannot go into the
details of each method to see what fits most their needs. So, do you
have in mind anything that briefly describes some methods and in what
problems they best fit? Or experimenting is the fastest way?

Some sample code or a link would be well appreciated.


Thanks a lot

Perikles Rammos
University of Athens