Optimal convergence analysis of mixed finite element methods for fourth‐order elliptic and parabolic problems

By using a special interpolation operator developed by Girault and Raviart (finite element methods for Navier‐Stokes Equations, Springer‐Verlag, Berlin, 1986), we prove that optimal error bounds can be obtained for a fourth‐order elliptic problem and a fourth‐order parabolic problem solved by mixed finite element methods on quasi‐uniform rectangular meshes. Optimal convergence is proved for all continuous tensor product elements of order k ≥ 1. A numerical example is provided for solving the fourth‐order elliptic problem using the bilinear element. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

A multilevel finite element method in space‐time for the Navier‐Stokes problem

A multilevel finite element method in space‐time for the two‐dimensional nonstationary Navier‐Stokes problem is considered. The method is a multi‐scale method in which the fully nonlinear Navier‐Stokes problem is only solved on a single coarsest space‐time mesh; subsequent approximations are generated on a succession of refined space‐time meshes by solving a linearized Navier‐Stokes problem about the solution on the previous level. The a priori estimates and error analysis are also presented for the J‐level finite element method. We demonstrate theoretically that for an appropriate choice of space and time mesh widths: h_j ～ h, k_j ～ k, j = 2, …, J, the J‐level finite element method in space‐time provides the same accuracy as the one‐level method in space‐time in which the fully nonlinear Navier‐Stokes problem is solved on a final finest space‐time mesh. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2005     

Efficient linear solvers for incompressible flow simulations using Scott‐Vogelius finite elements

Recent research has shown that in some practically relevant situations like multiphysics flows (Galvin et al., Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng, to appear) divergence‐free mixed finite elements may have a significantly smaller discretization error than standard nondivergence‐free mixed finite elements. To judge the overall performance of divergence‐free mixed finite elements, we investigate linear solvers for the saddle point linear systems arising in ((P_k)^d,P _k‐1^disc) Scott‐Vogelius finite element implementations of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. We investigate both direct and iterative solver methods. Due to discontinuous pressure elements in the case of Scott‐Vogelius (SV) elements, considerably more solver strategies seem to deliver promising results than in the case of standard mixed finite elements such as Taylor‐Hood elements. For direct methods, we extend recent preliminary work using sparse banded solvers on the penalty method formulation to finer meshes and discuss extensions. For iterative methods, we test augmented Lagrangian and \begin{align*}\mathcal{H}\end{align*} ‐LU preconditioners with GMRES, on both full and statically condensed systems. Several numerical experiments are provided that show these classes of solvers are well suited for use with SV elements and could deliver an interesting overall performance in several applications.© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013     

Nonconforming finite element methods with subgrid viscosity applied to advection‐diffusion‐reaction equations

A nonconforming (Crouzeix–Raviart) finite element method with subgrid viscosity is analyzed to approximate advection‐diffusion‐reaction equations. The error estimates are quasi‐optimal in the sense that keeping the Péclet number fixed, the estimates are suboptimal of order in the mesh size for the L²‐norm and optimal for the advective derivative on quasi‐uniform meshes. The method is also reformulated as a finite volume box scheme providing a reconstruction formula for the diffusive flux with local conservation properties. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the error analysis. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Regular representations of finite groups as automorphism groups of k‐tournaments

It was shown by Babai and Imrich [2] that every finite group of odd order except and admits a regular representation as the automorphism group of a tournament. Here, we show that for k ≥ 3, every finite group whose order is relatively prime to and strictly larger than k admits a regular representation as the automorphism group of a k‐tournament. Our constructions are elementary, suggesting that the problem is significantly simpler for k‐tournaments than for binary tournaments. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 41: 238–248, 2002     

Claw‐decompositions and tutte‐orientations

We conjecture that, for each tree T, there exists a natural number k_T such that the following holds: If G is a k_T‐edge‐connected graph such that |E(T)| divides |E(G)|, then the edges of G can be divided into parts, each of which is isomorphic to T. We prove that for T = K_1,3 (the claw), this holds if and only if there exists a (smallest) natural number k_t such that every k_t‐edge‐connected graph has an orientation for which the indegree of each vertex equals its outdegree modulo 3. Tutte's 3‐flow conjecture says that k_t = 4. We prove the weaker statement that every 4$\lceil$ log n$\rceil$ ‐edge‐connected graph with n vertices has an edge‐decomposition into claws provided its number of edges is divisible by 3. We also prove that every triangulation of a surface has an edge‐decomposition into claws. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 52: 135–146, 2006     

The local ultraconvergence of high‐order finite element method for second‐order elliptic problems with constant coefficients over a rectangular partition

In this article, we will discuss the local ultraconvergence of high‐degree finite element method based on a rectangular partition for the second‐degree elliptic problem with constant coefficients in Ω ? ?² , u( y ) = 0 on ?Ω . Based on suitable regularity, ultraconvergence of the displacement of the extrapolated kth (k ≥ 3) degree finite element solution has been obtained by an extrapolation technique. Finally, numerical experiments are applied to demonstrate our theoretical findings.     

Large classes of infinite k‐cop‐win graphs

While finite cop‐win finite graphs possess a good structural characterization, none is known for infinite cop‐win graphs. As evidence that such a characterization might not exist, we provide as large as possible classes of infinite graphs with finite cop number. More precisely, for each infinite cardinal κ and each positive integer k, we construct 2^κ non‐isomorphic k‐cop‐win graphs satisfying additional properties such as vertex‐transitivity, or having universal endomorphism monoid and automorphism group. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 334–342, 2010     

All (k;g)‐cages are k‐edge‐connected

A (k;g)‐cage is a k‐regular graph with girth g and with the least possible number of vertices. In this paper, we prove that (k;g)‐cages are k‐edge‐connected if g is even. Earlier, Wang, Xu, and Wang proved that (k;g)‐cages are k‐edge‐connected if g is odd. Combining our results, we conclude that the (k;g)‐cages are k‐edge‐connected. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 48: 219–227, 2005     

Realizing finite edge‐transitive orientable maps

J.E. Graver and M.E. Watkins, Memoirs Am. Math. Soc. 126 (601) ( 5 ) established that the automorphism group of an edge‐transitive, locally finite map manifests one of exactly 14 algebraically consistent combinations (called types) of the kinds of stabilizers of its edges, its vertices, its faces, and its Petrie walks. Exactly eight of these types are realized by infinite, locally finite maps in the plane. H.S.M. Coxeter (Regular Polytopes, 2nd ed., McMillan, New York, 1963) had previously observed that the nine finite edge‐transitive planar maps realize three of the eight planar types. In the present work, we show that for each of the 14 types and each integer n ≥ 11 such that n ≡ 3,11 (mod 12), there exist finite, orientable, edge‐transitive maps whose various stabilizers conform to the given type and whose automorphism groups are (abstractly) isomorphic to the symmetric group Sym(n). Exactly seven of these types (not a subset of the planar eight) are shown to admit infinite families of finite, edge‐transitive maps on the torus, and their automorphism groups are determined explicitly. Thus all finite, edge‐transitive toroidal maps are classified according to this schema. Finally, it is shown that exactly one of the 14 types can be realized as an abelian group of an edge‐transitive map, namely, as ?_n × ?₂ where n ≡ 2 (mod 4). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Graph Theory 37: 1–34, 2001     

Nearly light cycles in embedded graphs and crossing‐critical graphs

We find a lower bound for the proportion of face boundaries of an embedded graph that are nearly light (that is, they have bounded length and at most one vertex of large degree). As an application, we show that every sufficiently large k‐crossing‐critical graph has crossing number at most 2k + 23. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 53: 151–156, 2006     

The k‐piece packing problem

A k‐piece of a graph G is a connected subgraph of G all of whose nodes have degree at most k and at least one node has degree equal to k. We consider the problem of covering the maximum number of nodes of a graph by node disjoint k‐pieces. When k = 1 this is the maximum matching problem, and when k = 2 this is the problem, recently studied by Kaneko [ 19 [, of covering the maximum number of nodes by disjoint paths of length greater than 1. We present a polynomial time algorithm for the problem as well as a Tutte‐type existence theorem and a Berge‐type min‐max formula. We also solve the problem in the more general situation where the “pieces” are defined in terms of lower and upper bounds on the degrees. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

A Petrov‐Galerkin method with quadrature for semi‐linear second‐order hyperbolic problems

We propose and analyze a Crank–Nicolson quadrature Petrov–Galerkin (CNQPG) ‐spline method for solving semi‐linear second‐order hyperbolic initial‐boundary value problems. We prove second‐order convergence in time and optimal order H² norm convergence in space for the CNQPG scheme that requires only linear algebraic solvers. We demonstrate numerically optimal order H^k, k = 0,1,2, norm convergence of the scheme for some test problems with smooth and nonsmooth nonlinearities. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Lagrange interpolation and finite element superconvergence

We consider the finite element approximation of the Laplacian operator with the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, and study the corresponding Lagrange interpolation in the context of finite element superconvergence. For d‐dimensional Q_k‐type elements with d ≥ 1 and k ≥ 1, we prove that the interpolation points must be the Lobatto points if the Lagrange interpolation and the finite element solution are superclose in H¹ norm. For d‐dimensional P_k‐type elements, we consider the standard Lagrange interpolation—the Lagrange interpolation with interpolation points being the principle lattice points of simplicial elements. We prove for d ≥ 2 and k ≥ d + 1 that such interpolation and the finite element solution are not superclose in both H¹ and L² norms and that not all such interpolation points are superconvergence points for the finite element approximation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 20: 33–59, 2004.     

Self‐dual and self‐petrie‐dual regular maps

Regular maps are cellular decompositions of surfaces with the “highest level of symmetry”, not necessarily orientation‐preserving. Such maps can be identified with three‐generator presentations of groups G of the form G = 〈a, b, c|a² = b² = c² = (ab)^k = (bc)^m = (ca)² = … = 1〉; the positive integers k and m are the face length and the vertex degree of the map. A regular map (G;a, b, c) is self‐dual if the assignment b?b, c?a and a?c extends to an automorphism of G, and self‐Petrie‐dual if G admits an automorphism fixing b and c and interchanging a with ca. In this note we show that for infinitely many numbers k there exist finite, self‐dual and self‐Petrie‐dual regular maps of vertex degree and face length equal to k. We also prove that no such map with odd vertex degree is a normal Cayley map. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 69:152‐159, 2012     

Stability of a combined finite element ‐ finite volume discretization of convection‐diffusion equations

We consider a time‐dependent and a stationary convection‐diffusion equation. These equations are approximated by a combined finite element – finite volume method: the diffusion term is discretized by Crouzeix‐Raviart piecewise linear finite elements on a triangular grid, and the convection term by upwind barycentric finite volumes. In the nonstationary case, we use an implicit Euler approach for time discretization. This scheme is shown to be L²‐stable uniformly with respect to the diffusion coefficient. In addition, it turns out that stability is unconditional in the time‐dependent case. These results hold if the underlying grid satisfies a condition that is fulfilled, for example, by some structured meshes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 28: 402–424, 2012     

On extractors and exposure‐resilient functions for sublogarithmic entropy

We study resilient functions and exposure‐resilient functions in the low‐entropy regime. A resilient function (a.k.a. deterministic extractor for oblivious bit‐fixing sources) maps any distribution on n ‐bit strings in which k bits are uniformly random and the rest are fixed into an output distribution that is close to uniform. With exposure‐resilient functions, all the input bits are random, but we ask that the output be close to uniform conditioned on any subset of n ‐ k input bits. In this paper, we focus on the case that k is sublogarithmic in n. We simplify and improve an explicit construction of resilient functions for k sublogarithmic in n due to Kamp and Zuckerman (SICOMP 2006), achieving error exponentially small in k rather than polynomially small in k. Our main result is that when k is sublogarithmic in n, the short output length of this construction (O(log k) output bits) is optimal for extractors computable by a large class of space‐bounded streaming algorithms. Next, we show that a random function is a resilient function with high probability if and only if k is superlogarithmic in n, suggesting that our main result may apply more generally. In contrast, we show that a random function is a static (resp. adaptive) exposure‐resilient function with high probability even if k is as small as a constant (resp. loglog n). No explicit exposure‐resilient functions achieving these parameters are known. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2013     

Some 3‐connected 4‐edge‐critical non‐Hamiltonian graphs

Let γ(G) be the domination number of graph G, thus a graph G is k‐edge‐critical if γ (G) = k, and for every nonadjacent pair of vertices u and υ, γ(G + uυ) = k?1. In Chapter 16 of the book “Domination in Graphs—Advanced Topics,” D. Sumner cites a conjecture of E. Wojcicka under the form “3‐connected 4‐critical graphs are Hamiltonian and perhaps, in general (i.e., for any k ≥ 4), (k?1)‐connected, k‐edge‐critical graphs are Hamiltonian.” In this paper, we prove that the conjecture is not true for k = 4 by constructing a class of 3‐connected 4‐edge‐critical non‐Hamiltonian graphs. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Connectivity keeping paths in k‐connected graphs

A result of G. Chartrand, A. Kaugars, and D. R. Lick [Proc Amer Math Soc 32 (1972), 63–68] says that every finite, k‐connected graph G of minimum degree at least ?3k/2? contains a vertex x such that G?x is still k‐connected. We generalize this result by proving that every finite, k‐connected graph G of minimum degree at least ?3k/2?+m?1 for a positive integer m contains a path P of length m?1 such that G?V(P) is still k‐connected. This has been conjectured in a weaker form by S. Fujita and K. Kawarabayashi [J Combin Theory Ser B 98 (2008), 805–811]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 65: 61–69, 2010.     

Three‐dimensional internal gravity‐capillary waves in finite depth

We consider three‐dimensional inviscid‐irrotational flow in a two‐layer fluid under the effects of gravity and surface tension, where the upper fluid is bounded above by a rigid lid and the lower fluid is bounded below by a flat bottom. We use a spatial dynamics approach and formulate the steady Euler equations as an infinite‐dimensional Hamiltonian system, where an unbounded spatial direction x is considered as a time‐like coordinate. In addition, we consider wave motions that are periodic in another direction z. By analyzing the dispersion relation, we detect several bifurcation scenarios, two of which we study further: a type of 00(is)(iκ₀) resonance and a Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcation. The bifurcations are investigated by performing a center‐manifold reduction, which yields a finite‐dimensional Hamiltonian system. For this finite‐dimensional system, we establish the existence of periodic and homoclinic orbits, which correspond to, respectively, doubly periodic travelling waves and oblique travelling waves with a dark or bright solitary wave profile in the x direction. The former are obtained using a variational Lyapunov‐Schmidt reduction and the latter by first applying a normal form transformation and then studying the resulting canonical system of equations.