fast-numerical-integration

A bridge for fast numerical integration of differential equations in Python.

The core idea: author a system of ODEs in a computer algebra system (SymPy or similar), code-print that system to C, compile it and bridge it into Python with Cython, then integrate it with hand-written numerical integrators (DOP853, Runge-Kutta families, ...). The goal is to be considerably faster than scipy.integrate.solve_ivp while producing reusable, composable tooling that other projects can drop in.

Why

solve_ivp is flexible and battle-tested, but every right-hand-side evaluation crosses back into Python, which dominates the cost for stiff or long-horizon problems. By generating a compiled C RHS and driving it from a Cython integration loop, we keep the hot path entirely in native code — no per-step Python overhead — while still authoring the physics symbolically.

Architecture (target)

  SymPy / CAS            Code printing            Cython bridge            Integrators
 ┌────────────┐   ->    ┌──────────────┐   ->   ┌───────────────┐   ->   ┌──────────────┐
 │  dy/dt =   │         │  generated   │        │  compiled .so │        │ DOP853 / RK  │
 │  f(t, y)   │         │  C kernel    │        │  + Python API │        │  step loop   │
 └────────────┘         └──────────────┘        └───────────────┘        └──────────────┘

Each stage is meant to be reusable on its own: the code printer, the Cython build glue, and the integrators are independent tools.

Current status

Milestone 1 — SciPy baseline (done). A main entry point solves the classic figure-eight three-body choreography with scipy.integrate.solve_ivp (DOP853) and saves a static trajectory plot. This gives us a correct reference solution and a timing target for the custom engine that follows.

Milestone 3 — Cython integrators (done). RK23, RK45, and DOP853 are reimplemented in Cython as a step-for-step copy of SciPy's RungeKutta solvers. They use the same tableaus, initial-step heuristic, error norms, and step-size controller, so they accept the same steps and make the same number of RHS evaluations as solve_ivp. State-sized work is done in typed-memoryview loops over buffers that cnumpy allocates once per solve. The step loop makes no NumPy calls and creates no temporary arrays. Right-hand sides are cdef subclasses of OdeSystem, and the integrator calls them through the vtable. A Python callable also works through an adapter, which is slower.

Milestone 3b — the rest of solve_ivp (done). t_eval, dense_output (an OdeSolution), events (terminal as a bool or a count, plus direction), vectorized, args, per-component rtol/atol, first_step, max_step, and SciPy's validation and warnings are all supported. Output points, interpolants, and event times and states match SciPy to round-off, with identical RHS evaluation counts. That includes DOP853's 3 extra dense-output stages, which are evaluated only when an interpolant is needed. Event roots are found with a C port of SciPy's brentq. Events can be native EventFunction subclasses, such as the built-in ComponentCrossing, so a fully compiled problem never calls into Python. The stepper classes mirror scipy.integrate.OdeSolver (step(), dense_output(), t_old, step_size). Not supported: complex-valued y0.

Package layout (src/ layout):

src/fast_numerical_integration/
  integrators.pyx/.pxd  # GIL-free C core (fni_*), OdeSystem/EventFunction, steppers, solve_ivp, integrate
  batch.pyx             # integrate_batch: many segments in one nogil loop (C API example)
  nbody.pyx             # NBodyGravity: native N-body RHS (stand-in for generated C)
  tableaus.py           # Butcher tableaus, bit-identical to SciPy's
  three_body.py         # figure-eight ICs, three_body_rhs, ThreeBodySystem(.native_rhs())
  visualize.py          # plot_trajectories(solution, out_path) -> PNG
  main.py               # main(): solve with solve_ivp, print stats, write outputs/figure_eight.png
  benchmark.py          # timing harness: scipy vs cython (Python RHS) vs cython (native RHS)
  suite.py              # fni-suite: benchmark + figures for every catalog problem and event scenario
  testing.py            # run SciPy with our summation order (bit-identical comparisons)
  problems/
    catalog.py          # 41 canonical test problems: RHS, exact/published references, invariants
    native.pyx          # native (Cython) RHS and event classes for every catalog problem
    events.py           # event scenarios with exact event times (apsides, pendulum, bouncing ball)
setup.py                # Cython extension build (metadata stays in pyproject.toml)

Milestone 3c — canonical test suite (done). A catalog of 41 standard problems, each with a NumPy RHS and an equivalent native one:

• DETEST A1–E5, with the published reference end values (Hull et al. 1972; Enright & Pryce 1987).
• Hairer–Nørsett–Wanner: Arenstorf, Pleiades, Brusselator.
• Long-time: Kepler over 100–1000 orbits, the outer solar system over 2×10⁵ days, the figure-eight choreography over 50 periods.
• Stability: Prothero–Robinson, Van der Pol for μ = 1…1000, Robertson, Lorenz, finite-time blow-up.
• Event scenarios: Kepler apsides, a large-amplitude pendulum, a bouncing ball with restarts.

The tests are grouped by the oracle they check against:

Findings worth knowing:

• RK23 and RK45 match SciPy's RHS-evaluation count on every problem. DOP853 can differ by a few percent: its error estimate is a heavily cancelling sum, so near round-off level summation order flips accept/reject decisions. SciPy shows the same sensitivity to a 1-ulp change in y0. With SciPy patched to our summation order (fast_numerical_integration.testing), every trajectory is bit-identical.
• RK45 at rtol=1e-3 goes unstable on Robertson (|y| ~ 1e7, then fails). This is a known Dormand–Prince stiffness pathology, and SciPy does the same.

Using the Cython engine

integrators.solve_ivp takes the same arguments as scipy.integrate.solve_ivp (default method RK45):

import numpy as np
from fast_numerical_integration.integrators import ComponentCrossing, solve_ivp
from fast_numerical_integration.three_body import figure_eight_system

system = figure_eight_system()
sol = solve_ivp(
    system.native_rhs(), (0.0, system.period), system.y0, method="DOP853",
    t_eval=np.linspace(0.0, system.period, 2000), dense_output=True,
    events=[ComponentCrossing(1, direction=1)],    # y1 crosses 0 upward
    rtol=1e-10, atol=1e-12,
)
sol.t, sol.y              # solution at t_eval
sol.sol(1.234)            # dense interpolant anywhere in the interval
sol.t_events, sol.y_events

Plain Python RHS and event callables also work, with SciPy's terminal and direction attributes. They are slower because every call goes back through Python.

Native systems, runtime parameters and the C API

A native RHS is a GIL-free C function plus a context pointer. To write one, subclass OdeSystem (or EventFunction for events) in a .pyx file. In __init__, register the C function with c_fn / c_ctx and declare the runtime parameters:

from fast_numerical_integration.integrators cimport OdeSystem

cdef int _vdp(double t, const double* y, double* dydt, Py_ssize_t n, void* ctx) noexcept nogil:
    cdef const double* p = <const double*> ctx          # p[0] = mu
    dydt[0] = y[1]
    dydt[1] = p[0] * (1.0 - y[0] * y[0]) * y[1] - y[0]
    return 0

cdef class VanDerPol(OdeSystem):
    def __init__(self, double mu=1.0):
        self.n_states = 2
        self._init_params([mu], ("mu",))
        self.c_fn = _vdp
        self.c_ctx = self._params_ptr()

Parameters change between solves without recompiling, which is what continuation needs:

vdp = VanDerPol()
for mu in (1.0, 10.0, 100.0):
    vdp.params = [mu]
    sol = solve_ivp(vdp, (0, 20), [2.0, 0.0], method="DOP853")

(Overriding cdef eval still works, but such systems need the GIL.)

All three entry points run on one C core, so they take bit-identical steps:

from fast_numerical_integration.integrators cimport (
    fni_integrate, fni_options, fni_stats, FNI_DOP853, FNI_OK)

with nogil:
    rc = fni_integrate(FNI_DOP853, rhs_fn, ctx, n, t0, y0, t1, &opt,
                       events, n_events, y_out, rec_event, rec_t, rec_y, max_records, &stats)

The lower-level fni_solver_init / fni_solver_step / fni_solver_dense_eval / fni_events_check functions expose single steps for custom drivers. All solver state lives in a caller-owned struct, so concurrent integrations are safe if the RHS kernels are reentrant. Every catalog kernel in problems/native.pyx is written that way.

Installation

pip install fast-numerical-integration            # or: uv add fast-numerical-integration
pip install "fast-numerical-integration[plot]"    # + matplotlib, for fni / fni-suite / visualize

Pre-built wheels cover Linux x86_64 and macOS on Apple Silicon for CPython 3.11–3.14, and every wheel passes the full test suite before it's published. Other platforms install from the source distribution, which needs a C compiler. All extensions are built with floating-point contraction off, so results are identical across platforms.

To cimport the C API from your own Cython package, add fast-numerical-integration and cython to your [build-system] requires. examples/downstream/ is a minimal working package; the release workflow builds it against every release.

Quickstart (development)

Requires uv.

uv sync                                        # create the venv, install deps, compile Cython
uv run fni                                     # or: uv run python -m fast_numerical_integration.main

This writes outputs/figure_eight.png and prints solver stats, e.g.:

System:        figure-eight
Method:        DOP853 (scipy solve_ivp)
Steps taken:   2000 sampled, 1454 RHS evals
Wall time:     22.30 ms
Energy:        E0=-1.287142e+00  ET=-1.287142e+00  |drift|=2.61e-10
Saved plot ->  outputs/figure_eight.png

The tiny energy drift over one period confirms the dynamics and initial conditions are correct.

The Cython extensions build when the package installs. uv tracks the .pyx and .pxd files as cache keys, so uv sync or uv run rebuilds them after an edit. Building needs a C compiler.

Benchmark

uv run fni-bench                               # or: uv run python -m fast_numerical_integration.benchmark

Times RK23, RK45, and DOP853 on the figure-eight system (one period, rtol=1e-10, atol=1e-12) with three engines:

• scipy: scipy.integrate.solve_ivp.
• cython+pyrhs: the Cython integrators calling the NumPy RHS through Python. The RHS cost matches SciPy's, so this measures integrator overhead alone.
• cython: the Cython integrators with the native NBodyGravity RHS.

Representative run:

solver                 best (ms)      mean±sd (ms)    nfev   eval/ms     E drift   period err
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
scipy RK23               626.758    636.353±10.984   43064      68.7    7.66e-10     6.93e-08
cython+pyrhs RK23        432.419     435.549±2.256   43064      99.6    7.67e-10     6.93e-08
cython RK23                3.747       3.966±0.299   43064   11494.1    7.67e-10     6.93e-08
scipy RK45                39.150      39.270±0.093    2936      75.0    2.98e-10     7.78e-08
cython+pyrhs RK45         29.834      31.064±1.231    2936      98.4    2.98e-10     7.78e-08
cython RK45                0.201       0.207±0.005    2936   14633.5    2.98e-10     7.78e-08
scipy DOP853              15.282      15.353±0.060    1202      78.7    2.61e-10     7.29e-08
cython+pyrhs DOP853       12.178      12.234±0.037    1202      98.7    2.61e-10     7.29e-08
cython DOP853              0.086       0.091±0.003    1202   13906.7    2.61e-10     7.29e-08

The Cython engine makes exactly the same number of RHS evaluations as SciPy and reaches the same accuracy. With a native RHS, DOP853 runs about 175x faster than solve_ivp. With the Python RHS the gain is only ~1.3x, so most of SciPy's time is spent calling the Python RHS. That is why the remaining milestones generate compiled kernels. Numbers vary by machine.

Benchmark and visualize every problem

uv run fni-suite                    # all problems + event scenarios, ~2 minutes
uv run fni-suite --problems D5 pleiades --quick

This writes one figure per problem to outputs/suite/<group>/<name>.png. Each figure shows the solution, error along the trajectory (or conserved-quantity drift, or step size), a DOP853 work-precision curve and wall-time bars for SciPy and Cython. It also writes one figure per event scenario and summary_speedup.png, plus summary.md / summary.csv tables. Cython's end-to-end speedup with DOP853 ranges from about 6× (C4, a dense 51×51 linear system, where the work is the same matrix-vector product as NumPy's) to about 500× (outer solar system), with identical step counts and accuracy.

Run the tests:

uv run pytest               # ~1.5 minutes
uv run pytest --runslow     # include long integrations
uv run pytest tests/events  # one oracle group

CI (.github/workflows/tests.yml) runs the full suite, including --runslow, on Python 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13 for every pull request and push to main. The all-tests check aggregates the matrix and is the status to require before merging.

Roadmap

• Milestone 1 — SciPy solve_ivp figure-eight baseline + visualization.
• Milestone 2 — Benchmark harness timing solve_ivp across RK23, RK45, and DOP853 on the same system (baseline numbers to beat).
• Milestone 3 — Cython RK23 / RK45 / DOP853 with adaptive steps, matching SciPy step for step; native OdeSystem RHS interface.
• Milestone 3b — Dense output, t_eval, events, and the rest of SciPy's solve_ivp options for these methods.
• Milestone 3c — Canonical test problems (DETEST, Hairer, long-time, stability, events), split by oracle, with a benchmark/figure suite.
• Milestone 3d — GIL-free C core with a cimportable C API (fni_integrate, single-step functions), runtime params on native systems and events, integrate() endpoint API, integrate_batch.
• Milestone 4 — SymPy → C code printing for the RHS.
• Milestone 5 — Build glue that compiles the generated C into an OdeSystem subclass; benchmark against the baseline.

Releasing

Releases are published from GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/release.yml) with PyPI trusted publishing, so no tokens are stored.

1. Bump version in pyproject.toml and merge the change to main.
2. Optional rehearsal: run the Release workflow manually with target: testpypi, then pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple/ --extra-index-url https://pypi.org/simple/ fast-numerical-integration.
3. Tag and push: git tag vX.Y.Z && git push origin vX.Y.Z. The workflow checks that the tag matches the version, builds and tests every wheel, and uploads to PyPI.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.