On the derivation of explicit two-step peer methods

The so-called two-step peer methods for the numerical solution of Initial Value Problems (IVP) in differential systems were introduced by R. Weiner, B.A. Schmitt and coworkers as a tool to solve different types of IVPs either in sequential or parallel computers. These methods combine the advantages of Runge–Kutta (RK) and multistep methods to obtain high stage order and therefore provide in a natural way a dense output. In particular, several explicit peer methods have been proved to be competitive with standard RK methods in a wide selection of non-stiff test problems.The aim of this paper is to propose an alternative procedure to construct families of explicit two step peer methods in which the available parameters appear in a transparent way. This allows us to obtain families of fixed stepsize s stage methods with stage order 2s−1, which provide dense output without extra cost, depending on some free parameters that can be selected taking into account the stability properties and leading error terms. A study of the extension of these methods to variable stepsize is also carried out. Optimal s stage methods with s=2,3 are derived.