Analysis of a finite PML approximation for the three dimensional time-harmonic Maxwell and acoustic scattering problems

We consider the approximation of the frequency domain three-dimensional Maxwell scattering problem using a truncated domain perfectly matched layer (PML). We also treat the time-harmonic PML approximation to the acoustic scattering problem. Following work of Lassas and Somersalo in 1998, a transitional layer based on spherical geometry is defined, which results in a constant coefficient problem outside the transition. A truncated (computational) domain is then defined, which covers the transition region. The truncated domain need only have a minimally smooth outer boundary (e.g., Lipschitz continuous). We consider the truncated PML problem which results when a perfectly conducting boundary condition is imposed on the outer boundary of the truncated domain. The existence and uniqueness of solutions to the truncated PML problem will be shown provided that the truncated domain is sufficiently large, e.g., contains a sphere of radius . We also show exponential (in the parameter ) convergence of the truncated PML solution to the solution of the original scattering problem inside the transition layer.

Our results are important in that they are the first to show that the truncated PML problem can be posed on a domain with nonsmooth outer boundary. This allows the use of approximation based on polygonal meshes. In addition, even though the transition coefficients depend on spherical geometry, they can be made arbitrarily smooth and hence the resulting problems are amenable to numerical quadrature. Approximation schemes based on our analysis are the focus of future research.

     

An adaptive perfectly matched layer technique for 3-D time-harmonic electromagnetic scattering problems

An adaptive perfectly matched layer (PML) technique for solving the time harmonic electromagnetic scattering problems is developed. The PML parameters such as the thickness of the layer and the fictitious medium property are determined through sharp a posteriori error estimates. Combined with the adaptive finite element method, the adaptive PML technique provides a complete numerical strategy to solve the scattering problem in the framework of FEM which produces automatically a coarse mesh size away from the fixed domain and thus makes the total computational costs insensitive to the thickness of the PML absorbing layer. Numerical experiments are included to illustrate the competitive behavior of the proposed adaptive method.

     

Resolvent Krylov subspace approximation to operator functions

We consider the approximation of operator functions in resolvent Krylov subspaces. Besides many other applications, such approximations are currently of high interest for the approximation of φ-functions that arise in the numerical solution of evolution equations by exponential integrators. It is well known that Krylov subspace methods for matrix functions without exponential decay show superlinear convergence behaviour if the number of steps is larger than the norm of the operator. Thus, Krylov approximations may fail to converge for unbounded operators. In this paper, we analyse a rational Krylov subspace method which converges not only for finite element or finite difference approximations to differential operators but even for abstract, unbounded operators whose field of values lies in the left half plane. In contrast to standard Krylov methods, the convergence will be independent of the norm of the discretised operator and thus of the spatial discretisation. We will discuss efficient implementations for finite element discretisations and illustrate our analysis with numerical experiments.     

Numerical approximations of a nonlinear eigenvalue problem and applications to a density functional model

In this paper, we study numerical approximations of a nonlinear eigenvalue problem and consider applications to a density functional model. We prove the convergence of numerical approximations. In particular, we establish several upper bounds of approximation errors and report some numerical results of finite element electronic structure calculations that support our theory. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variational Approach to Scattering by Inhomogeneous Layers Above Rough Surfaces

In this paper, we study, via variational methods, the problem of scattering of time harmonic acoustic waves by unbounded inhomogeneous layers above a sound soft rough surface. We first propose a variational formulation and exploit it as a theoretical tool to prove the well-posedness of this problem when the media is non-absorbing for arbitrary wave number and obtain an estimate about the solution, which exhibit explicitly dependence of bound on the wave number and on the geometry of the domain. Then, based on the non-absorbing results, we show that the variational problem remains uniquely solvable when the layer is absorbing by means of a priori estimate of the solution. Finally, we consider the finite element approximation of the problem and give an error estimate.     

A Galerkin approximation for integro-differential equations in electromagnetic scattering from a chiral medium

We consider the scattering of time-harmonic electromagnetic waves from a chiral medium. It is known for the Drude–Born–Fedorov model that the forward scattering problem can be described by an integro-differential equation. In this paper we study a Galerkin finite element approximation for this integro-differential equation. Our Galerkin scheme, which relies on a suitable periodization of the integral equation, enables the use of the fast Fourier transform and a simple numerical implementation. We establish a quasi-optimal convergence analysis for the Galerkin method. Explicit formulas for the discrete scheme are also provided.     

Variational Approach to Scattering by Inhomogeneous Layers Ab ove Rough Surfaces

In this paper, we study, via variational methods, the problem of scattering of time harmonic acoustic waves by unbounded inhomogeneous layers above a sound soft rough surface. We first propose a variational formulation and exploit it as a theoretical tool to prove the well-posedness of this problem when the media is non-absorbing for arbitrary wave number and obtain an estimate about the solution, which exhibit explicitly dependence of bound on the wave number and on the geometry of the domain. Then, based on the non-absorbing results, we show that the variational problem remains uniquely solvable when the layer is absorbing by means of a priori estimate of the solution. Finally, we consider the finite element approximation of the problem and give an error estimate.     

A PML Method for Electromagnetic Scattering from Two-dimensional Overfilled Cavities

In this paper, we consider electromagnetic scattering problems for two-dimensional overfilled cavities. A half ringy absorbing perfectly matched layer （PML） is introduced to enclose the cavity, and the PML formulations for both TM and TE polarizations are presented. Existence, uniqueness and convergence of the PML solutions are considered. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the PML method is efficient and accurate for solving cavity scattering problems.     

An overfilled cavity problem for Maxwell's equations

This paper is concerned with the mathematical analysis of the scattering of a time‐harmonic electromagnetic plane wave by an open and overfilled cavity that is embedded in a perfect electrically conducting infinite ground plane, where the electromagnetic wave propagation is governed by the Maxwell equations. Above the flat ground surface and the open aperture of the cavity, the space is assumed to be filled with a homogeneous medium with a constant permittivity and permeability, whereas the interior of the cavity is filled with some inhomogeneous medium with a variable permittivity and permeability. The scattering problem is modeled as a boundary value problem over a bounded domain, with transparent boundary condition proposed on the hemisphere enclosing the inhomogeneity represented by the cavity. The existence and uniqueness of the weak solution for the model problem are established by using a variational approach. The perfectly matched layer (PML) method is investigated to truncate the unbounded electromagnetic cavity scattering problem. It is shown that the truncated PML problem attains a unique solution. An explicit error estimate is given between the solution of the original scattering problem and that of the truncated PML problem. The error estimate implies that the PML solution converges exponentially to the original cavity scattering problem by increasing either the PML medium parameter or the PML layer thickness. The convergence result is expected to be useful for determining the PML medium parameter in the computational electromagnetic scattering problem. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preconditioning techniques for the iterative solution of scattering problems

We consider a time-harmonic electromagnetic scattering problem for an inhomogeneous medium. Some symmetry hypotheses on the refractive index of the medium and on the electromagnetic fields allow to reduce this problem to a two-dimensional scattering problem. This boundary value problem is defined on an unbounded domain, so its numerical solution cannot be obtained by a straightforward application of usual methods, such as for example finite difference methods, and finite element methods. A possible way to overcome this difficulty is given by an equivalent integral formulation of this problem, where the scattered field can be computed from the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of second kind. The numerical approximation of this problem usually produces large dense linear systems. We consider usual iterative methods for the solution of such linear systems, and we study some preconditioning techniques to improve the efficiency of these methods. We show some numerical results obtained with two well known Krylov subspace methods, i.e., Bi-CGSTAB and GMRES.     

An adaptive anisotropic perfectly matched layer method for 3-D time harmonic electromagnetic scattering problems

We develop an anisotropic perfectly matched layer (PML) method for solving the time harmonic electromagnetic scattering problems in which the PML coordinate stretching is performed only in one direction outside a cuboid domain. The PML parameters such as the thickness of the layer and the absorbing medium property are determined through sharp a posteriori error estimates. Combined with the adaptive finite element method, the proposed adaptive anisotropic PML method provides a complete numerical strategy to solve the scattering problem in the framework of FEM which produces automatically a coarse mesh size away from the fixed domain and thus makes the total computational costs insensitive to the choice of the thickness of the PML layer. Numerical experiments are included to illustrate the competitive behavior of the proposed adaptive method.     

Numerical analysis of a PML model for time-dependent Maxwell’s equations

In this paper, we study a perfectly matched layer model for the three-dimensional time-dependent Maxwell’s equations. We develop both semi- and fully-discrete finite element methods for solving the truncated PML problem by Nedelec edge elements. Optimal convergence rates are proved for both semi- and fully-discrete schemes. To our knowledge, this is the first error analysis obtained for time domain finite element method for PML models.     

Numerical Approximation of a Unilateral Obstacle Problem

We consider a reformulation of the unilateral obstacle problem presented by the authors (Addou and Mermri in Math-Rech. Appl. 2:59–69, 2000). This reformulation introduces a continuous function, whose subdifferential characterizes the noncontact domain. Our goal in this paper is to give a numerical approximation of the solution of the reformulated problem. We consider discretization of the problem based on finite element method. Then we prove the convergence of the approximate solution to the exact one. Some numerical tests on one-dimensional obstacle problem are provided.     

On the convergence of finite element solutions to the interface problem for the Stokes system

The Stokes system with a discontinuous coefficient (Stokes interface problem) and its finite element approximations are considered. We firstly show a general error estimate. To derive explicit convergence rates, we introduce some appropriate assumptions on the regularity of exact solutions and on a geometric condition for the triangulation. We mainly deal with the MINI element approximation and then consider P1-iso-P2/P1 element approximation. Results are expected to give an instructive remark in numerical analysis for two-phase flow problems.     

A dynamic viscoelastic contact problem with normal compliance,finite penetration and nonmonotone slip rate dependent friction

We consider a mathematical model which describes the dynamic evolution of a viscoelastic body in frictional contact with an obstacle. The contact is modelled with normal compliance and unilateral constraint, associated to a rate slip-dependent version of Coulomb’s law of dry friction. In order to approximate the contact conditions, we consider a regularized problem wherein the contact is modelled by a standard normal compliance condition without finite penetrations. For each problem, we derive a variational formulation and an existence result of the weak solution of the regularized problem is obtained. Next, we prove the convergence of the weak solution of the regularized problem to the weak solution of the initial nonregularized problem. Then, we introduce a fully discrete approximation of the variational problem based on a finite element method and on a second order time integration scheme. The solution of the resulting nonsmooth and nonconvex frictional contact problems is presented, based on approximation by a sequence of nonsmooth convex programming problems. Finally, some numerical simulations are provided in order to illustrate both the behaviour of the solution related to the frictional contact conditions and the convergence result.     

Rational approximation to trigonometric operators

We consider the approximation of trigonometric operator functions that arise in the numerical solution of wave equations by trigonometric integrators. It is well known that Krylov subspace methods for matrix functions without exponential decay show superlinear convergence behavior if the number of steps is larger than the norm of the operator. Thus, Krylov approximations may fail to converge for unbounded operators. In this paper, we propose and analyze a rational Krylov subspace method which converges not only for finite element or finite difference approximations to differential operators but even for abstract, unbounded operators. In contrast to standard Krylov methods, the convergence will be independent of the norm of the operator and thus of its spatial discretization. We will discuss efficient implementations for finite element discretizations and illustrate our analysis with numerical experiments. AMS subject classification (2000)  65F10, 65L60, 65M60, 65N22     

The Two-dimensional Electromagnetic Scattering from Periodic Chiral Structures and Its Finite Element Approximation

In this paper, we consider the electromagnetic scattering from periodic chiral structures. The structure is periodic in one direction and invariant in another direction. The electromagnetic fields in the chiral medium are governed by the Maxwell equations together with the Drude-Born-Fedorov equations. We simplify the problem to a two-dimensional scattering problem and we show that for all but possibly a discrete set of wave numbers, there is a unique quasi-periodic weak solution to the diffraction problem. The diffraction problem can be solved by finite element method. We also establish uniform error estimates for the finite element method and the error estimates when the truncation of the nonlocal transparent boundary operators takes place.     

A collocation method for high-frequency scattering by convex polygons

We consider the problem of scattering of a time-harmonic acoustic incident plane wave by a sound soft convex polygon. For standard boundary or finite element methods, with a piecewise polynomial approximation space, the computational cost required to achieve a prescribed level of accuracy grows linearly with respect to the frequency of the incident wave. Recently Chandler–Wilde and Langdon proposed a novel Galerkin boundary element method for this problem for which, by incorporating the products of plane wave basis functions with piecewise polynomials supported on a graded mesh into the approximation space, they were able to demonstrate that the number of degrees of freedom required to achieve a prescribed level of accuracy grows only logarithmically with respect to the frequency. Here we propose a related collocation method, using the same approximation space, for which we demonstrate via numerical experiments a convergence rate identical to that achieved with the Galerkin scheme, but with a substantially reduced computational cost.     

On the finite element method for elliptic problems with degenerate and singular coefficients

We consider Dirichlet boundary value problems for second order elliptic equations over polygonal domains. The coefficients of the equations under consideration degenerate at an inner point of the domain, or behave singularly in the neighborhood of that point. This behavior may cause singularities in the solution. The solvability of the problems is proved in weighted Sobolev spaces, and their approximation by finite elements is studied. This study includes regularity results, graded meshes, and inverse estimates. Applications of the theory to some problems appearing in quantum mechanics are given. Numerical results are provided which illustrate the theory and confirm the predicted rates of convergence of the finite element approximations for quasi-uniform meshes.

     

Discontinuous Galerkin methods for the linear Schrödinger equation in non-cylindrical domains

The convergence of a discontinuous Galerkin method for the linear Schrödinger equation in non-cylindrical domains of ${\mathbb{R}^m}The convergence of a discontinuous Galerkin method for the linear Schr?dinger equation in non-cylindrical domains of \mathbbR^m{\mathbb{R}^m}, m ≥ 1, is analyzed in this paper. We show the existence of the resulting approximations and prove stability and error estimates in finite element spaces of general type. When m = 1 the resulting problem is related to the standard narrow angle ‘parabolic’ approximation of the Helmholtz equation, as it appears in underwater acoustics. In this case we investigate theoretically and numerically the order of convergence using finite element spaces of piecewise polynomial functions.