This article is concerned with the question of the numerical solution of Cauchy's problem for divergent hyperbolic systems of equations with partial derivatives of the first order: ∂u ∂t + ∂ϑ (u, x, t) ∂x =ψ (u, x, t) , u ( x, 0) = u 0( x), where u, ϑ, ψ are n-dimensional vectors. Without any essential loss of generality we shall concentrate our attention on the homogeneous systems of the form ∂u ∂t + ∂ϑ (u) ∂x =0 , As usual, we look for the generalised solutions of the problem (3), (2), i.e. for piece-wise continuous functions u( x, t) satisfying the initial condition (2) and the system of integral conservation laws: ▪ which is a consequence of system (3) and is equivalent to it in the class of smooth coefficients ( C is an arbitrary piece-wise smooth contour in the ( x, t) plane). The method we suggest consists in reducing the problem (4), (2) to a problem with initial data for some system of equations which we shall call equations containing the trajectory density. The numerical calculation consists of the approximate construction of the trajectories and the calculation of the values of the function u( x, t) along them. The satisfactory results of numerical experiments indicate the possibility of applying the method to through calculation across the lines of discontinuity of the solution. It is not possible at present to consider this method as theoretically justified to a sufficient extent: there are no proofs of the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the basic problem, and questions connected with the transition from problem (3), (2) to the new problem have not been completely solved. The aim of this work is to throw light on the fundamentals of the method and to draw certain conclusions about its use.
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