NUMERICAL METHODS FOR A STIFF PROBLEM ARISING FROM POPULATION DYNAMICS

We consider a model of population dynamics whose mortality function is unbounded. We note that the regularity of the solution depends on the growth rate of the mortality near the maximum age. We propose Gauss-Legendre methods along the characteristics to approximate the solution when the solution is smooth enough. It is proven that the scheme is convergent at fourth-order rate in the maximum norm. We also propose discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods to approximate the solution which is not smooth enough. The stability of the method is discussed. Several numerical examples are presented.