Numerical solution of the Boltzmann equation I: spectrally accurate approximation of the collision operator

In this paper we show that the use of spectral Galerkin methods for the approximation of the Boltzmann equation in the velocity space permits one to obtain spectrally accurate numerical solutions at a reduced computational cost. We prove that the spectral algorithm preserves the total mass and approximates with infinite-order accuracy momentum and energy. Consistency of the method is also proved, and a stability result for a smoothed positive scheme is given. We demonstrate that the Fourier coefficients associated with the collision kernel of the equation have a very simple structure and in some cases can be computed explicitly. Numerical examples for homogeneous test problems in two and three dimensions confirm the advantages of the method.