Abstract
Numerical integration (quadrature) of proper integrals is characterized by a big variety of methods. This chapter discusses the rectangular rules (based on the forward, backward, and central difference approximation), the trapezoidal rule, and the Simpson rule as a multi-point integration method. It moves on to a more general description - the Newton - Cotes rules and, in particular, to the Romberg method. The Gauss - Legendre quadrature is introduced as a very efficient alternative. Finally, the treatment of improper integrals and of multiple integrals is discussed. Particular emphasis is on the errors involved.
Notes
- 1.
Particular care is required when dealing with periodic functions!
References
Mathai, A.M., Haubold, H.J.: Special Functions for Applied Scientists. Springer, Berlin (2008)
Beals, R., Wong, R.: Special Functions. Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2010)
Abramovitz, M., Stegun, I.A. (eds.): Handbook of Mathemathical Functions. Dover, New York (1965)
Sormann, H.: Numerische Methoden in der Physik. Lecture Notes. Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics, Graz University of Technology, Austria (2011)
Dahlquist, G., Björk, A.: Numerical Methods in Scientific Computing. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2008)
Press, W.H., Teukolsky, S.A., Vetterling, W.T., Flannery, B.P.: Numerical Recipes in C++, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stickler, B.A., Schachinger, E. (2014). Numerical Integration. In: Basic Concepts in Computational Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02435-6_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02435-6_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02434-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02435-6
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)