Asymptotic preserving implicit-explicit Runge-Kutta methods for nonlinear kinetic equations

We discuss implicit-explicit (IMEX) Runge-Kutta methods which are particularly adapted to stiff kinetic equations of Boltzmann type. We consider both the case of easy invertible collision operators and the challenging case of Boltzmann collision operators. We give sufficient conditions in order that such methods are asymptotic preserving and asymptotically accurate. Their monotonicity properties are also studied. In the case of the Boltzmann operator the methods are based on the introduction of a penalization technique for the collision integral. This reformulation of the collision operator permits us to construct penalized IMEX schemes which work uniformly for a wide range of relaxation times avoiding the expensive implicit resolution of the collision operator. Finally, we show some numerical results which confirm the theoretical analysis. © 2013 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.