Important aspects of geometric numerical integration

At the example of Hamiltonian differential equations, geometric properties of the flow are discussed that are only preserved by special numerical integrators (such as symplectic and/or symmetric methods). In the 'non-stiff' situation the long-time behaviour of these methods is well-understood and can be explained with the help of a backward error analysis. In the highly oscillatory ('stiff') case this theory breaks down. Using a modulated Fourier expansion, much insight can be gained for methods applied to problems where the high oscillations stem from a linear part of the vector field and where only one (or a few) high frequencies are present. This paper terminates with numerical experiments at space discretizations of the sine-Gordon equation, where a whole spectrum of frequencies is present.