On Numerical Simulations of Variable-Order Fractional Cable Equation Arising in Neuronal Dynamics

In recent years, various complex systems and real-world phenomena have been shown to include memory and hereditary properties that change with respect to time, space, or other variables. Consequently, fractional partial differential equations containing variable-order fractional operators have been extensively resorted for modeling such phenomena accurately. In this paper, we consider the two-dimensional fractional cable equation with the Caputo variable-order fractional derivative in the time direction, which is preferable for describing neuronal dynamics in biological systems. A point-wise scheme, namely, the Crank–Nicolson finite difference method, along with a group-wise scheme referred to as the explicit decoupled group method are proposed to solve the problem under consideration. The stability and convergence analyses of the numerical schemes are provided with complete details. To demonstrate the validity of the proposed methods, numerical simulations with results represented in tabular and graphical forms are given. A quantitative analysis based on the CPU timing, iteration counting, and maximum absolute error indicates that the explicit decoupled group method is more efficient than the Crank–Nicolson finite difference scheme for solving the variable-order fractional equation.