Fast computations with the harmonic Poincaré–Steklov operators on nested refined meshes

In this paper we develop asymptotically optimal algorithms for fast computations with the discrete harmonic Poincaré–Steklov operators (Dirichlet–Neumann mapping) for interior and exterior problems in the presence of a nested mesh refinement. Our approach is based on the multilevel interface solver applied to the Schur complement reduction onto the nested refined interface associated with a nonmatching decomposition of a polygon by rectangular substructures. This paper extends methods from Khoromskij and Prössdorf (1995), where the finite element approximations of interior problems on quasi‐uniform grids have been considered. For both interior and exterior problems, the matrix–vector multiplication with the compressed Schur complement matrix on the interface is shown to have a complexity of the order O(N _r log³ N _u), where N_r = O((1 + p _r) N _u) is the number of degrees of freedom on the polygonal boundary under consideration, N _u is the boundary dimension of a finest quasi‐uniform level and p _r ⩾ 0 defines the refinement depth. The corresponding memory needs are estimated by O(N _r log^q N _u), where q = 2 or q = 3 in the case of interior and exterior problems, respectively.

     

Multilevel preconditioning on the refined interface and optimal boundary solvers for the Laplace equation

In this paper we propose and analyze some strategies to construct asymptotically optimal algorithms for solving boundary reductions of the Laplace equation in the interior and exterior of a polygon. The interior Dirichlet or Neumann problems are, in fact, equivalent to a direct treatment of the Dirichlet-Neumann mapping or its inverse, i.e., the Poincaré-Steklov (PS) operator. To construct a fast algorithm for the treatment of the discrete PS operator in the case of polygons composed of rectangles and regular right triangles, we apply the Bramble-Pasciak-Xu (BPX) multilevel preconditioner to the equivalent interface problem in theH ^1/2-setting. Furthermore, a fast matrix-vector multiplication algorithm is based on the frequency cutting techniques applied to the local Schur complements associated with the rectangular substructures specifying the nonmatching decomposition of a given polygon. The proposed compression scheme to compute the action of the discrete interior PS operator is shown to have a complexity of the orderO(N log ^q N),q [2, 3], with memory needsO(N log² N), whereN is the number of degrees of freedom on the polygonal boundary under consideration. In the case of exterior problems we propose a modification of the standard direct BEM whose implementation is reduced to the wavelet approximation applied to either single layer or hypersingular harmonic potentials and, in addition, to the matrix-vector multiplication for the discrete interior PS operator.     

Oblique derivative and interface problems on polygonal domains and networks

We Investigate oblique derivative problems associated to the Laplace operator on a polygon and we extend our study to "polygonal interface problems" which are an extension to networks of the prevlous ones. We focus on the non variational character of such problems. We obtain index formulae, a calculus of the dimension of the kernel, an expansion of the 'semi-variational" (or weak) solutions into regular and singular parts and formulae for the coefficients of the singularities In such expanslons.     

An a priori error analysis for the coupling of local discontinuous Galerkin and boundary element methods

In this paper we analyze the coupling of local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) and boundary element methods as applied to linear exterior boundary value problems in the plane. As a model problem we consider a Poisson equation in an annular polygonal domain coupled with a Laplace equation in the surrounding unbounded exterior region. The technique resembles the usual coupling of finite elements and boundary elements, but the corresponding analysis becomes quite different. In particular, in order to deal with the weak continuity of the traces at the interface boundary, we need to define a mortar-type auxiliary unknown representing an interior approximation of the normal derivative. We prove the stability of the resulting discrete scheme with respect to a mesh-dependent norm and derive a Strang-type estimate for the associated error. Finally, we apply local and global approximation properties of the subspaces involved to obtain the a priori error estimate in the energy norm.

     

A finite element method for interface problems in domains with smooth boundaries and interfaces

This paper is concerned with the analysis of a finite element method for nonhomogeneous second order elliptic interface problems on smooth domains. The method consists in approximating the domains by polygonal domains, transferring the boundary data in a natural way, and then applying a finite element method to the perturbed problem on the approximate polygonal domains. It is shown that the error in the finite element approximation is of optimal order for linear elements on a quasiuniform triangulation. As such the method is robust in the regularity of the data in the original problem.     

Polygonal interface problems:higher regularity results

We continue the study of boundary value problems on two–ndimensional polygona; topological networks, extensions of oblique derivative problems and of interface problems in a polygonal domain of the plane. The aim of this paper is firstly, to deal with non variational problems, secondly, to show that a weak solution may be dplit into a regular part and a singular part and thridly, to give the extract formula for the coeffcients of the singularities.     

Maximizing the guarded boundary of an Art Gallery is APX-complete

In the Art Gallery problem, given is a polygonal gallery and the goal is to guard the gallery's interior or walls with a number of guards that must be placed strategically in the interior, on walls or on corners of the gallery. Here we consider a more realistic version: exhibits now have size and may have different costs. Moreover the meaning of guarding is relaxed: we use a new concept, that of watching an expensive art item, i.e. overseeing a part of the item. The main result of the paper is that the problem of maximizing the total value of a guarded weighted boundary is APX-complete. This is shown by an appropriate ‘gap-preserving’ reduction from the Max-5-occurrence-3-Sat problem. We also show that this technique can be applied to a number of maximization variations of the art gallery problem. In particular we consider the following problems: given a polygon with or without holes and k available guards, maximize a) the length of walls guarded and b) the total cost of paintings watched or overseen. We prove that all the above problems are APX-complete.     

A Middle School Extension of Pick's Theorem to Areas of Nonsimple Closed Polygonal Regions

The author has extended Pick's theorem for simple closed polygonal regions to unions of simple closed polygonal regions–a topic that is manageable for middle grade students. From sets of data including numbers of boundary points and numbers of interior points, students are guided to discover Pick's theorem. Additionally, with the author's creation of crossing points, Pick's theorem is extended to include areas of other polygonal regions. The article is developed along lines of the 1989 Standards of the NCTM in the use of data tables which lead to the discovery of a formula.     

Finite element methods and their convergence for elliptic and parabolic interface problems

In this paper, we consider the finite element methods for solving second order elliptic and parabolic interface problems in two-dimensional convex polygonal domains. Nearly the same optimal -norm and energy-norm error estimates as for regular problems are obtained when the interfaces are of arbitrary shape but are smooth, though the regularities of the solutions are low on the whole domain. The assumptions on the finite element triangulation are reasonable and practical. Received July 7, 1996 / Revised version received March 3, 1997     

AN EMBEDDED BOUNDARY METHOD FOR ELLIPTIC AND PARABOLIC PROBLEMS WITH INTERFACES AND APPLICATION TO MULTI-MATERIAL SYSTEMS WITH PHASE TRANSITIONS

The embedded boundary method for solving elliptic and parabolic problems in geometrically complex domains using Cartesian meshes by Johansen and Colella （1998, J. Comput. Phys. 147, 60） has been extended for elliptic and parabolic problems with interior boundaries or interfaces of discontinuities of material properties or solutions. Second order accuracy is achieved in space and time for both stationary and moving interface problems. The method is conservative for elliptic and parabolic problems with fixed interfaces. Based on this method, a front tracking algorithm for the Stefan problem has been developed. The accuracy of the method is measured through comparison with exact solution to a two-dimensional Stefan problem. The algorithm has been used for the study of melting and solidification problems.     

A fast interface solver for the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on polygonal domains

Summary. In this paper we propose and analyze an efficient discretization scheme for the boundary reduction of the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on convex polygonal domains. We show that the biharmonic Dirichlet problem can be reduced to the solution of a harmonic Dirichlet problem and of an equation with a Poincaré-Steklov operator acting between subspaces of the trace spaces. We then propose a mixed FE discretization (by linear elements) of this equation which admits efficient preconditioning and matrix compression resulting in the complexity . Here is the number of degrees of freedom on the underlying boundary, is an error reduction factor, or for rectangular or polygonal boundaries, respectively. As a consequence an asymptotically optimal iterative interface solver for boundary reductions of the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on convex polygonal domains is derived. A numerical example confirms the theory. Received September 1, 1995 / Revised version received February 12, 1996     

Finite element methods for semilinear parabolic interface problems

In this exposition we study the finite element methods for second-order semilinear parabolic interface problems in two dimensional convex polygonal domains with smooth interface. Both semidiscrete and fully discrete schemes are analyzed. Optimal order error estimates in the L²(0, T; H¹(Ω))-norm are established. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Improved interface conditions for a non-overlapping domain decomposition of a non-convex polygonal domain

We propose a local improvement of domain decomposition methods which fits with the singularities occurring in the solutions of elliptic equations in polygonal domains. This short presentation focuses on a model elliptic problem with the decomposition of a non-convex polygonal domain into convex polygonal subdomains. After explaining the strategy and the theoretical design of adapted interface conditions at the corner, we present numerical experiments which show that these new interface conditions satisfy some optimality properties. To cite this article: C. Chniti et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).     

A selective immersed discontinuous Galerkin method for elliptic interface problems

This article proposes a selective immersed discontinuous Galerkin method based on bilinear immersed finite elements (IFE) for solving second‐order elliptic interface problems. This method applies the discontinuous Galerkin formulation wherever selected, such as those elements around an interface or a singular source, but the regular Galerkin formulation everywhere else. A selective bilinear IFE space is constructed and applied to the selective immersed discontinuous Galerkin method based on either the symmetric or nonsymmetric interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin formulation. The new method can solve an interface problem by a rectangular mesh with local mesh refinement independent of the interface even if its geometry is nontrivial. Meanwhile, if desired, its computational cost can be maintained very close to that of the standard Galerkin IFE method. It is shown that the selective bilinear IFE space has the optimal approximation capability expected from piecewise bilinear polynomials. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate features of this method, including the effectiveness of local mesh refinement around the interface and the sensitivity to the penalty parameters. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Link distance and shortest path problems in the plane

This paper describes algorithms to compute Voronoi diagrams, shortest path maps, the Hausdorff distance, and the Fréchet distance in the plane with polygonal obstacles. The underlying distance measures for these algorithms are either shortest path distances or link distances. The link distance between a pair of points is the minimum number of edges needed to connect the two points with a polygonal path that avoids a set of obstacles. The motivation for minimizing the number of edges on a path comes from robotic motions and wireless communications because turns are more difficult in these settings than straight movements.Link-based Voronoi diagrams are different from traditional Voronoi diagrams because a query point in the interior of a Voronoi face can have multiple nearest sites. Our site-based Voronoi diagram ensures that all points in a face have the same set of nearest sites. Our distance-based Voronoi diagram ensures that all points in a face have the same distance to a nearest site.The shortest path maps in this paper support queries from any source point on a fixed line segment. This is a middle-ground approach because traditional shortest path maps typically support queries from either a fixed point or from all possible points in the plane.The Hausdorff distance and Fréchet distance are fundamental similarity metrics for shape matching. This paper shows how to compute new variations of these metrics using shortest paths or link-based paths that avoid polygonal obstacles in the plane.     

Finite element methods for semilinear elliptic problems with smooth interfaces

The purpose of this paper is to study the finite element method for second order semilinear elliptic interface problems in two dimensional convex polygonal domains. Due to low global regularity of the solution, it seems difficult to achieve optimal order of convergence with straight interface triangles [Numer. Math., 79 (1998), pp. 175–202]. For a finite element discretization based on a mesh which involve the approximation of the interface, optimal order error estimates in L ² and H ¹-norms are proved for linear elliptic interface problem under practical regularity assumptions of the true solution. Then an extension to the semilinear problem is also considered and optimal error estimate in H ¹ norm is achieved.     

Finite element methods with numerical quadrature for elliptic problems with smooth interfaces

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the numerical quadrature on the finite element approximation to the exact solution of elliptic equations with discontinuous coefficients. Due to low global regularity of the solution, it seems difficult to achieve optimal order of convergence with classical finite element methods [Z. Chen, J. Zou, Finite element methods and their convergence for elliptic and parabolic interface problems, Numer. Math. 79 (1998) 175-202]. We derive error estimates in finite element method with quadrature for elliptic interface problems in a two-dimensional convex polygonal domain. Optimal order error estimates in L² and H¹ norms are shown to hold even if the regularity of the solution is low on the whole domain. Finally, numerical experiment for two dimensional test problem is presented in support of our theoretical findings.     

On the Discrete Friedrichs Inequality for Nonconforming Finite Elements

In this paper we establish the validity of the discrete Friedrichs inequality for piecewise linear Crouzeix-Raviart nonconforming finite elements in polygonal domains. It represents an extension of an important result proven for a polygonal convex domain to a general polygonal nonconvex domain. This result has applications in the analysis of exterior approximations of partial differential equations as, e.g., the Navier-Stokes equations and convection-diffusion problems.     

A “retraction” method for planning the motion of a disc

A new approach to certain motion-planning problems in robotics is introduced. This approach is based on the use of a generalized Voronoi diagram, and reduces the search for a collision-free continuous motion to a search for a connected path along the edges of such a diagram. This approach yields an O(n log n) algorithm for planning an obstacle-avoiding motion of a single circular disc amid polygonal obstacles. Later papers will show that extensions of the approach can solve other motion-planning problems, including those of moving a straight line segment or several coordinated discs in the plane amid polygonal obstacles.