119

11

Adomian Decomposition Method

11.1 Introduction
The Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM) was first introduced by
Adomian in the early 1980s [1, 2]. It is an efficient semi-analytical technique
used for solving linear and nonlinear differential equations. It permits us
to handle both nonlinear initial value problems (IVPs) and boundary value
problems (BVPs).
The solution technique of this method [3, 4] is mainly based on decompos-
ing the solution of nonlinear operator equation to a series of functions. Each
presented term of the obtained series is developed from a polynomial gener-
ated in the expansion of an analytic function into a power series. Generally, the
abstract formulation of this technique is very simple, but the actual difficulty
arises while calculating the required polynomials and also in proving the con-
vergence of the series of functions. In this chapter, we present procedures for
solving linear as well as nonlinear ordinary/partial differential equations by the
ADM along with example problems for clear understanding.
The following section addresses the ADM for handling ordinary differential
equations (ODEs).

11.2 ADM for ODEs

The ADM mainly depends on decomposing the governing differential
equation [5, 6] viz. F(x, p(x), p′ (x)) = 0 into two components
Lx (p(x)) + N(p(x)) = 0 (11.1)
d
where Lx = dx and N are the linear and nonlinear parts of F, respectively. The
operator Lx is assumed as an invertible operator. Solving for Lx (p(x)), Eq. (11.1)
leads to
Lx (p(x)) = −N(p(x)) (11.2)

Advanced Numerical and Semi-Analytical Methods for Differential Equations, First Edition.
Snehashish Chakraverty, Nisha Rani Mahato, Perumandla Karunakar, and Tharasi Dilleswar Rao.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
120 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

x
x = ∫0 dx on both sides of Eq. (11.2) yields
Applying the inverse operator L−1
p(x) = 𝜙(x) − L−1
x [N(p(x))] (11.3)
where p(0) = 𝜙(x) is the constant of integration which satisfies the given ini-
tial conditions. Now assume that the solution “p(x)” can be represented as an
infinite series of the form
∑∞
p(x) = pn (x) (11.4)
n=0
Furthermore, from Eq. (11.4) the nonlinear term N(p(x)) is written as infinite
series [1, 2] in terms of the Adomian polynomials An (x) of the form
(∞ )
∑ ∑∞
N pn (x) = An (x) (11.5)
n=0 n=0

where An Adomian polynomials of p0 , p1 , p2 , …, pn are given by the following

formula [3, 4]:
[ (∞ )]
1 dn ∑
i
An (x) = N pi x (11.6)
n! dxn i=0 x=0
Then, substituting Eqs. (11.4) and (11.5) in Eq. (11.3) gives
(∞ )
∑
∞
∑
pn (x) = 𝜙(x) − L −1
An (x) (11.7)
n=0 n=0

From Eq. (11.6), one may find the Adomian polynomials as below [4, 5]
⎫
A0 (x) = N(p0 ), ⎪
d | ⎪
A1 (x) = N(p0 + xp1 )|| = p0 N ′ (p0 ), ⎪
dx |x=0 ⎪
1 d2 | 1 2 ′′ ⎪
A2 (x) = 2 | ′
N(p0 + xp1 + x p2 )| = p2 (x)N (p0 ) + p1 N (p0 ) ⎪
2! dx 2
|x=0 2
⎪
| ⎪
1 d3 ∑ n
3
| 1
A3 (x) = N x p (x) | = p (x)N ′ (p ) + p (x)p (x) + p3 N ′′′ (p )⎪
n | 3 0 1 3
3! 1 0
⎪
3! dx3 n=0 |
|x=0 ⎬
| ⎪
1 d4 ∑ n
4
|
A4 (x) = N x p (x) | ⎪
n | ⎪
4! dx4 n=0 |
( |x=0
) ⎪
= p4 (x)N ′ (p0 ) + p1 (x)p3 (x) + 12 p21 (x) N ′′ (p0 ) + p21 (x)p2 (x)N ′′′ (p0 )⎪
1
2 ⎪
1 4 ′′′′ ⎪
+ p1 N (p0 ) ⎪
4! ⎪
⋮ ⎪
⎭
(11.8)
 11.2 ADM for ODEs 121

∑
∞
In order to get the solution p(x) = pn (x), the process is longer but in prac-
n=0
tice all the terms of the series may not be required and the solution may be
∑N
approximated by the truncated series n=0 pn (by using the convergence of the
series).
Next, we present linear and nonlinear IVPs for clear understanding of the
ADM for ODEs.

Example 11.1 Consider the IVP ex y′′ + xy = 0 subject to the initial conditions
y(0) = 2, y′ (0) = 5.

Solution To apply the ADM, we rewrite the given equation in an operator

form as
Lxx y = −xe−x y (11.9)
d2 x s
where Lxx = dx −1
2 and Lxx = ∫0 ∫0
dxds. By comparing Eq. (11.9) with Eq. (11.1)
the nonlinear part N(p(x)) = 0.
By applying L−1
xx to both sides of Eq. (11.9), we get
x s
y(x) = 2 + 5x − xe−x y(x)dxds. (11.10)
∫0 ∫0
where 𝜙(x) = 2 + 5x by comparing Eq. (11.10) with Eq. (11.3) which satisfies the
given initial conditions.
Now assume that the solution “y(x)” can be represented as infinite series of
the form
∑∞
y(x) = yn (x). (11.11)
n=0

By substituting Eq. (11.11) in both sides of Eq. (11.10) yields

[ [ ]]
∑ ∞ x s ∑∞
−x
yn (x) = 2 + 5x − xe yn (x)dx ds. (11.12)
n=0
∫0 ∫0 n=0

Next, by using Eqs. (11.5), (11.8), and (11.12), one can obtain the Adomian
∑∞
∑
∞
polynomials An (x)dx = yn (x)dx (because, as mentioned above there is no
n=0 n=0
nonlinear part in the considered problem) as
y0 (x) = 2 + 5x,
y1 (x) = −L−1 −x
xx (xe y0 (x)),

= −L−1 −x
xx (xe (2 + 5x)),

= −L−1
xx (2xe
−x
+ 5x2 e−x ),
122 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

⋮
( )
∑
∞
∑
∞
(−1)n xn+1 ∑
∞
(−1)n xn+2
yn (x) = −L−1
xx 2 +5 ,
n=0 n=0
n! n=0
n!
( )
∑
∞
∑
∞
(−1)n xn+3 ∑∞
(−1)n xn+4
⇒ yn (x) = 2 −5 .
n=0 n=0
(n + 3)(n + 2)n! n=0
(n + 4)(n + 3)n!
(11.13)
(−1)n xn
where e−x = n!
.
From Eqs. (11.13) and (11.11), we can obtain
( ) ( )
1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1
y(x) = 2 x3 − x + x3 + · · · + 5 x − x5 + x6 + · · ·
6 212 40 12 20 60

du u2
Example 11.2 Consider the nonlinear IVP dx
= 1−xu
, u(0) = 1.

du u2
Solution The nonlinear IVP dx
= 1−xu
can be reduced to the operator form

Lx u = xuu′ + u2 , u(0) = 1. (11.14)

d x
In this case, Lx = dx is the ordinary differential operator and L−1x = ∫0 dx is
an integral operator. By applying L−1
x to both sides of Eq. (11.14), we get
−1 2
u(x) = u(0) + L−1 ′
x (xuu ) + Lx (u ). (11.15)
By using the initial condition, we obtain,
−1 2
u(x) = 1 + L−1 ′
x (xuu ) + Lx (u ). (11.16)
Then, in the decomposition method, each of the nonlinear terms uu′ and u2
are formally expanded in terms of power series given by [4, 5]
∑
∞
∑
∞
uu′ = An ; u2 = Bn (11.17)
n=0 n=0

where An and Bn are the Adomian polynomials corresponding to the nonlin-

ear terms uu′ and u2 , respectively. The Adomian polynomials are further given
(Eq. (11.8)) by

A0 = u0 u′ 0 , ⎫
⎪
A1 = u′0 u1 + u′1 u0, ⎪
⎬ (11.18)
A2 = u0 u2 + u1 u1 + u2 u0 ,⎪
′ ′ ′

⎪
⋮ ⎭
 11.3 Solving System of ODEs by ADM 123

and
B0 = u20 , ⎫
⎪
B1 = 2u′0 u1 , ⎪
⎬ (11.19)
B2 = 2u0 u2 + u1 ,⎪
′ 2

⎪
⋮ ⎭
By substituting Eq. (11.17) in Eq. (11.16), we have
(∞ ) (∞ )
∑∞
∑ ∑
un = 1 + Lx−1
xAn + Lx −1
Bn . (11.20)
n=0 n=0 n=0

On comparing both sides of the series of Eq. (11.20), we obtain uk+1 (x) =
x (xAK ) + Lx (BK ), k ≥ 0. By using Eqs. (11.18) and (11.19), this leads to
L−1 −1

u0 (x) = 1,

u1 (x) = L−1 −1
x (xA0 ) + Lx (B0 ) = x,

3 2
u2 (x) = L−1 −1
x (xA1 ) + Lx (B1 ) = x,
2
8 3
u3 (x) = L−1 −1
x (xA2 ) + Lx (B2 ) = x,
3
125 4
u4 (x) = L−1 −1
x (xA4 ) + Lx (B4 ) = x ,…,
4
∑
∞
The solution of Eq. (11.14) u(x) = un may now be written as
n=0

3 8 125 4
u(x) = 1 + x + x2 + x3 + x +···
2 3 4

11.3 Solving System of ODEs by ADM

A system of first-order ordinary differential equations can be considered as
[7, 8],
u′1 = f1 (x, u1 , u2 , … , un ) ⎫
⎪
u2 = f2 (x, u1 , u2 , … , un ) ⎪
′
⎪
⎬ (11.21)
⋮ ⎪
⎪
⎪
un = fn (x, u1 , u2 , … , un )⎭
′
124 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

We can present the system of equations (11.21) as

Lx ui = fi (x, u1 , u2 , … , un ) for i = 1, 2, … , n. (11.22)
d x
where Lx is the linear operator dx x = ∫0 dx.
with inverse linear operator, L−1
Applying the inverse operator on Eq. (11.22), we get the following canonical
form which is suitable for applying the ADM.
x
ui (x) = ui (0) + fi (x, u1 , u2 , … , un )dx, i = 1, 2, … , n (11.23)
∫0
where ui (0) are the initial conditions of Eq. (11.22).
As mentioned earlier, the solution of Eq. (11.22) using the ADM is considered
as the sum of a series
∑
∞
ui = fi,j (11.24)
j=0

and the integrand in Eq. (11.23) reduces to

∑
∞
fi (x, u1 , … , un ) = Ai,j (fi,0 , fi,1 , … , fi,j ) (11.25)
j=0

where Ai, j (f i, 0 , f i, 1 , …, f i, n ) are the Adomian polynomials. Substituting

Eqs. (11.24) and (11.25) in Eq. (11.23), we get
∑
∞
∑
∞ x
fi,j = ui (0) + Ai,j (fi,0 , fi,1 , … , fi,j )dx, (11.26)
j=0 j=0
∫0

From Eq. (11.26), we have the following recursive relations as

fi,0 = ui (0),
⋮
x
fi,n+1 = Ai,n (fi,0 , fi,1 , … fi,n )dx, n = 0, 1, 2, … (11.27)
∫0
∑
∞
By solving Eq. (11.26), we obtain f i, j and ui = fi,j .
j=0

Example 11.3 Let us consider the following system of differential equations

with initial conditions u1 (0) = 1, u2 (0) = 0, and u3 (0) = 2,

u′1 = u3 − cos x,⎫

⎪
u′2 = u3 − ex , ⎬ (11.28a)
⎪
u′3 = u1 − u2 . ⎭
 11.4 ADM for Solving Partial Differential Equations 125

x
By applying the inverse operator L−1 = ∫0 dx to both sides of Eq. (11.28a), we
get
x x
⎫
u1 = 1 − cos xdx +u3 dx⎪
∫0 ∫0
⎪
x
x
x
⎪
u2 = −
∫0
e dx +
∫0 3
u dx ⎬ (11.28b)
⎪
x ⎪
u3 = 2 + (u − u2 )dx. ⎪
∫0 1 ⎭
General form of the system (11.28b) for computing Adomian polynomials
(11.27) can be written as

u1,0 = 1 − sin x, u1,n+1 = L−1 u3,n ⎫

⎪
u2,0 = 1 − ex , u2,n+1 = L−1 u3,n ⎬ (11.28c)
⎪
u3,0 = 2, u3,n+1 = L (u1,n − u2,n ).⎭
−1

where n = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
By expanding and solving the system of equations (11.28c), we get the solu-
tion of Eq. (11.28a) as u1 = ex , u2 = sin x, and u3 = ex + cos x.

11.4 ADM for Solving Partial Differential Equations

Let us consider a general nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) in the
following form [9]:

Lu + Ru + Nu = g (11.29)

The linear term of nonlinear PDE is represented as Lu + Ru, while the nonlin-
ear term is represented by Nu. Here, L is the invertible linear operator and R is
x
the remaining linear part. By applying inverse operator L−1 = ∫0 dx, Eq. (11.29)
can be written as

u = 𝜙 + L−1 (g) − L−1 (Ru) − L−1 (Nu) (11.30)

where 𝜙(x) is the constant of integration which satisfies the given initial condi-
tions.
Then, the solution may be represented by the decomposition method given
in Eq. (11.30) by the following infinite series:
∑
∞
u= un (11.31)
n=0
126 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

The nonlinear operator Nu is then decomposed as

∑
∞
Nu = An (11.32)
n=0

where An ’ s are Adomian polynomials defined as

[ ( n )]|
1 dn ∑ |
An = xi ui | , n = 0, 1, 2, … (11.33)
n N |
n! dx |
n=1 |x=0
By substituting Eqs. (11.31) and (11.32) in Eq. (11.30), we have
( ( ∞ )) (∞ )
∑∞
∑ ∑
u= un = 𝜙 + L (g) − L
−1 −1
R un −L −1
An (11.34)
n=0 n=0 n=0

Consequently, Eq. (11.34) can be written in terms of recursive relations as

⎫
u0 = 𝜙 + L−1 (g), ⎪
−1 −1
⎪
u1 = −L (R(u0 )) − L (A0 ) ⎪
⎪
u2 = −L−1 (R(u1 )) − L−1 (A1 ) ⎬ (11.35)
⎪
⋮ ⎪
⎪
un = −L−1 (R(un−1 )) − L−1 (An−1 ).⎪
⎭
Hence, all the terms of “u” may be calculated using the above recursive rela-
∑∞
tions and the general solution obtained according to the ADM u = un .
n=0

Example 11.4 Consider the following hyperbolic nonlinear problem

𝜕u 𝜕u
=u , 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, 0 ≤ t ≤ 1, (11.36)
𝜕t 𝜕x
x
with the initial condition u(x, 0) = 10
.

Solution By using the ADM we have Ru = 0, Lu = 𝜕u 𝜕t

, Nu = u 𝜕u
𝜕x
, g(x, t) = 0,
x
and 𝜙 = u(x, 0) = 10 .
The approximate solution of Eq. (11.36) may be represented as
∑
∞
u= un . (11.37)
n=0
 11.5 ADM for System of PDEs 127

By using Eq. (11.35) the Adomian polynomials are obtained as

( ) ( )
x x t x t 2
u0 = , u1 = , u2 = ,
10 10 10 10 10
( )3 ( )n
x t x t
u3 = , … , un =
10 10 10 10
By substituting these individual terms in Eq. (11.37), we obtain
[ ( )2 ( )3 ( )n ]
x t t t t
u(x, t) = 1+ + + +···+ +··· .
10 10 10 10 10

11.5 ADM for System of PDEs

ADM transforms system of PDEs into a set of recursive relation that can easily
be handled [9, 10]. To understand the method, we now consider the following
system of linear PDEs:
𝜕p 𝜕q
+ = f1 ⎫
𝜕t 𝜕x ⎪
𝜕q 𝜕p ⎬ (11.38)
+ = f2 ⎪
⎭
𝜕t 𝜕x
subject to the initial conditions, p(x, 0) = g 1 (x); q(x, 0) = g 2 (x).
The system of linear PDEs, given in Eq. (11.38), can be further written as
}
Lt p + Lx q = f 1
(11.39)
Lt q + L x p = f 2
where Lt and Lx are first-order partial operators, and f 1 and f 2 are homogeneous
terms. Now, by applying the inverse operator L−1 t to Eq. (11.39) and then using
the initial conditions we get
p(x, t) = g1 (x) + L−1 −1
t f1 − Lt Lx q, (11.40)

q(x, t) = g2 (x) + L−1 −1

t f2 − Lt Lx p. (11.41)
The ADM suggests that the linear terms p(x, t) and q(x, t) are decomposed
by infinite series,
∑
∞
p(x, t) = pn (x, t). (11.42)
n=0

and
∑
∞
q(x, t) = qn (x, t). (11.43)
n=0
128 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

By substituting Eqs. (11.42) and (11.43) in Eqs. (11.40) and (11.41), respec-
tively, we obtain
∑
∞
∑
∞
pn (x, t) = g1 (x) + L−1 −1
t f 1 − Lt Lx qn (x, t). (11.44)
n=0 n=0

and
∑
∞
∑
∞
qn (x, t) = g2 (x) + L−1 −1
t f 2 − Lt Lx pn (x, t). (11.45)
n=0 n=0

The system is then transformed into a set of following recursive relations:

t f1 ,
p0 (x, t) = g1 (x) + L−1
pk+1 (x, t) = −L−1
t Lx qk (x, t), k≥0
and

t f2 ,
q0 (x, t) = g2 (x) + L−1
qk+1 (x, t) = −L−1
t Lx pk (x, t), k≥0

Example 11.5 Solve the following linear system of PDEs:

pt + qx = 0,
qt + px = 0.
with the initial conditions p(x, 0) = ex ; q(x, 0) = e−x .

Solution The above system of linear PDEs can be written in terms of differ-
ential operator as
}
Lt p + Lx q = 0
(11.46)
L t q + Lx p = 0

subject to the initial conditions p(x, 0) = ex , q(x, 0) = e−x .

In order to obtain the solution by using the ADM, we obtain the recursive
relations,
p0 (x, t) = ex
pk+1 (x, t) = −L−1
t Lx qk (x, t), k≥0
and
q0 (x, t) = e−x
qk+1 (x, t) = −L−1
t Lx pk (x, t), k≥0
 11.5 ADM for System of PDEs 129

The remaining components are thus determined by

(p0 , q0 ) = (ex , e−x ) ⎫

⎪
(p1 , q1 ) = (te , −te )
−x x
⎪
( 2 ) ⎪
t x t 2 −x ⎪
(p2 , q2 ) = e, e
2! 2! ⎬ (11.47)
( 3 )⎪
t −x t 3 x ⎪
(p3 , q3 ) = e ,− e
3! 3! ⎪
⎪
⋮ ⎭

By using Eq. (11.47), the unknowns pi and qi for i = 1, 2, … are computed and
substituted in Eqs. (11.42) and (11.43) to obtain the solution as
( )
x t2 t4
p(x, t) = p0 + p1 + p2 + · · · = e 1 + + +···
2! 4!
( )
t3 t5
+ e−x t + + + · · · = ex cosh t + e−x sinh t,
3! 5!
( )
−x t2 t4
q(x, t) = q0 + q1 + q2 + · · · = e 1+ + +···
2! 4!
( )
t3 t5
− ex t + + + · · · = e−x cosh t − ex sinh t.
3! 5!

Exercise
1 Solve the following IVPs by using the ADM
dy y2
= , y(0) = 1
dx 1 − xy
dy y
= , y(0) = 1
dx x − y

2 Solve the linear system of PDEs

pt + qx + 2q = 0
qt + px + 2p = 0

with the initial data

p(x, 0) = cos x; q(x, 0) = sin x

130 11 Adomian Decomposition Method

3 Solve the problem

( )2
𝜕y 2 1 𝜕y
=x −
𝜕t 4 𝜕x
with the initial condition
y(x, 0) = 0, 0≤x≤1

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