Centered two-step discretization of exponential decay (${\rho }_{\pm }=-Kh\pm \sqrt{1+K^2{h}^2}$)

Replacing the derivative in $x^{\prime }=-Kx$ by a central finite difference gives $x_{n+1}+2Kh{x}_n-x_{n-1}=0$. Its principal root is ${\rho }_{+}=e^{-\mathrm{arsinh}(Kh)}$, while the parasitic amplification root is ${\rho }_{-}=-e^{\mathrm{arsinh}(Kh)}$. On a fixed time interval, $A_h{\rho }_{+}^n+B_h{\rho }_{-}^n$ converges uniformly to $C{e}^{-Kt}$ exactly when $A_h\to C$ and $B_h\to 0$. A fixed nonzero parasitic amplitude alternates between two incompatible limits, but a vanishing starting error can converge despite the root's modulus exceeding one. This distinguishes fixed-time numerical convergence from long-time absolute stability.