Strong approximation of the time-fractional Cahn--Hilliard equation driven by a fractionally integrated additive noise

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the numerical approximation of a time-fractional stochastic Cahn--Hilliard equation driven by an additive fractionally integrated Gaussian noise. The model involves a Caputo fractional derivative in time of order $\alpha\in(0,1)$ and a fractional time-integral noise of order $\gamma\in[0,1]$. The numerical scheme approximates the model by a piecewise linear finite element method in space and a convolution quadrature in time (for both time-fractional operators), along with the $L^2$-projection for the noise. We carefully investigate the spatially semidiscrete and fully discrete schemes, and obtain strong convergence rates by using clever energy arguments. The temporal H\"older continuity property of the solution played a key role in the error analysis. Unlike the stochastic Allen--Cahn equation, the presence of the unbounded elliptic operator in front of the cubic nonlinearity in the underlying model adds complexity and challenges to the error analysis. To overcome these difficulties, several new techniques and error estimates are developed. The study concludes with numerical examples that validate the theoretical findings.