A high-accuracy preserving spectral Galerkin method for the Dirichlet boundary-value problem of variable-coefficient conservative fractional diffusion equations

We develop a high-accuracy preserving spectral Galerkin method for the Dirichlet boundary-value problem of one-sided variable-coefficient conservative fractional diffusion equations. The method has a proved high-order convergence rate of arbitrary order (i) without requiring the smoothness of the true solution u to the given boundary-value problem, but only assuming that the diffusivity coefficient and the right-hand source term have the desired regularity; (ii) for a variable diffusivity coefficient; and (iii) for an inhomogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. Numerical experiments substantiate the theoretical analysis and show that the method exhibits exponential convergence provided the diffusivity coefficient and the right-hand source term have the desired regularity.