On the Connection Between the Spectral Difference Method and the Discontinuous Galerkin Method

Abstract

In this short note we present a derivation of the Spectral Difference Scheme from a Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretization of a nonlinear conservation law. This allows interpretation of the Spectral Difference Scheme as a particular discretization under the quadrature-free nodal DG paradigm. Moreover, it enables identification of the key differences between the Spectral Difference Scheme and standard nodal DG schemes.