Numerical analysis of boundary integral solution of the Helmholtz equation in domains with non-smooth boundaries

In the paper we carry out a complete analysis of several efficientnumerical methods for the solution of boundary integral equationsdefined on a non-smooth boundary. In particular the solutionof the Helmholtz equation in the exterior of a closed wedgeis studied. The analytical behaviour of the solution of theresulting boundary integral equation (with a non-compact operator)near the wedge is investigated. Numerical analysis of the collocationand iterated collocation method for the problem is presented.Graded meshes are used to reflect the ‘singular’behaviour of the analytical solution, as well as the degreeof the polynomial approximant, in order to yield results with‘optimal convergence rates’. Finally the convergenceanalysis of some modified two-grid iterative methods for thefast solution of the resulting linear systems is given and numericalresults are presented which agree with the theoretical predictions.