Stability of the Semi-Implicit Method for the Cahn-Hilliard Equation with Logarithmic Potentials

Abstract

We consider the two-dimensional Cahn-Hilliard equation with logarithmic potentials and periodic boundary conditions. We employ the standard semi-implicit numerical  scheme, which treats the linear fourth-order dissipation term implicitly and the nonlinear term explicitly. Under natural constraints on the time step we prove strict phase separation and energy stability of the semi-implicit scheme. This appears to be the first rigorous result for the semi-implicit discretization of the Cahn-Hilliard equation with singular potentials.