Fuzzy discrete fractional calculus and fuzzy fractional discrete equations

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight certain limitations in the study of fuzzy fractional discrete equations (FFDEs) based on the generalized Hukuhara difference (gH-difference) in the previous papers. In general, the equivalence between FFDEs and the associated fuzzy discrete fractional sum equations (FDFSEs) is not achieved, requiring the introduction of an appropriate hypothesis to establish this equivalence. Furthermore, this paper introduces the fundamental theory of fuzzy fractional discrete calculus through granular arithmetic operations between fuzzy intervals to address restrictions in the formerly mentioned approaches involving the generalized Hukuhara difference. These operations are constructed based on the concept of the horizontal membership function (HMF) utilized in multidimensional fuzzy arithmetic (MFA). Additionally, the paper proposes the application of fractional discrete calculus to two types of time-discretization diffusion equations with non-zero right-hand sides. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to validate the main results.