A variational symplectic scheme based on Simpson's quadrature

Abstract: We propose a variational symplectic numerical method for the time integration of dynamical systems issued from the least action principle. We assume a quadratic internal interpolation of the state and we approximate the action in a small time step by the Simpson's quadrature formula. The resulting scheme is explicited for an elementary harmonic oscillator. It is a stable, explicit, and symplectic scheme satisfying the conservation of an approximate energy. Numerical tests illustrate our theoretical study.