Three-level schemes with double change in the time step

Nonstationary problems are solved numerically by applying multilevel (with more than two levels) time approximations. They are easy to construct and relatively easy to study in the case of uniform grids. However, the numerical study of application-oriented problems often involves approximations with a variable time step. The construction of multilevel schemes on nonuniform grids is associated with maintaining the prescribed accuracy and ensuring the stability of the approximate solution. In this paper, three-level schemes for the approximate solution of the Cauchy problem for a second-order evolution equation are constructed in the special case of a doubled or halved step size. The focus is on the approximation features in the transition between different step sizes. The study is based on general results of the stability (well-posedness) theory of operator-difference schemes in a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. Estimates for stability with respect to initial data and the right-hand side are obtained in the case of a doubled or halved time step.