A spectral method for fractional nonlinear transmission lines

Purpose The paper explores the spectral solution of a partial differential equation governing nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs). It aims to present an efficient simulation technique for a nonlinear fractional-order transmission line model and to show the effect of fractional derivatives on the evolution of solitons and wave packets of increasing spatial frequency. Design/methodology/approach The paper is concerned with the solution of the equation governing NLTLs for both integer and fractional time derivatives. The spectral method shall be considered with Hermite and Malmquist-Takenaka orthogonal functions and integer and fractional implementations of the implicit trapezoidal rule. While the Hermite functions and Malmquist-Takenaka functions are suitable for solitons, the Malmquist-Takenaka functions are selected as these are superior for approximating wave packets of increasing frequency (Iserles, Luong and Webb, 2023). Furthermore, they possess properties that are favourable from a computational viewpoint. Findings Results will show that the proposed approach is effective for simulating NLTLs with both integer and fractional time derivatives. In particular, fractional derivatives are shown to have a significant effect on the evolution of wave packets on a nonlinear transmission line. Originality/value The method is novel in using Malmquist-Takenaka basis functions for a spectral solution of a nonlinear transmission line equation with both integer and fractional time derivatives and for examining the effect of fractional derivatives on wave packets.