Generalized boundary value problems for semilinear elliptic equations in weighted function spaces

In a weighted L ₁-space, we prove the solvability of a boundary value problem for a semilinear elliptic equation of order 2m in a bounded domain for the case in which generalized functions with strong power-law singularities at isolated points and with finite-order singularities on the entire boundary are given on the boundary.     

Singularities of solutions to linear,second order analytic elliptic equations in two independent variables I. The completely regular boundary

Two methods are described for the a priori location of singularities of solutions to exterior boundary value problems. One uses an expansion for the solution in a circle centered on a regular exterior point P. A singularity lies on the circle of convergence. The envelope of these circles, generated as P makes a circuit about the closed boundary, circumscribes the singularities. The radius of convergence depends on singularities of the solution u(s) and its normal derivative v(s) on the boundary. The second method employs complex characteristics to relate singularities of the boundary data to real singularities of the solution. Integral equations connecting (y), v(s) and the analytic boundary condition are used to continue the data into the complex s-plane and to locate their singularities. Explicit solution of the integral equations is unnecessary; some nonlinear boundary conditions can be handled.     

S1-Valued Harmonic Maps with High Topological Degree: Asymptotic Behavior of the Singular Set

We prove that the singularities of harmonic maps from a domain D in the plane to S ¹ minimizing a renomalized energy tend to go to the boundary when their number becomes large.     

The hp-Version of the Boundary Element Method in ℝ3 The Basic Approximation Results

This paper deals with the basic approximation properties of the h–p version of the boundary element method (BEM) in ℝ³. We extend the results on the exponential convergence of the h–p version of the boundary element method on geometric meshes from problems in polygonal domains to problems in polyhedral domains. In 2D elliptic boundary value problems the solutions have only corner singularities whereas in 3D problems they contain additional edge and corner-edge singularities. The solutions of the corresponding boundary integral equations inherit those singularities. The detailed investigations in our analysis take care of the various types of those singularities. While edge singularities can be analysed using standard one-dimensional approximation results the corner-edge singularities demand a new analysis. © 1997 by B. G. Teubner Stuttgart–John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

An approach combining the Ritz-Galerkin and finite difference methods

The nonconforming combination of Ritz-Galerkin and finite difference methods is presented for solving elliptic boundary value problems with singularities. The Ritz-Galerkin method is used in the subdomains including singularities, the finite difference method is used in the rest of the solution domain. Moreover, on the common boundary of two regions where two different methods are used, the continuity conditions are constrained only on the nodes of difference grids. Theoretical analysis and numerical experiments have shown that average errors of numerical solutions and their generalized derivatives can reach the convergence rate O(h^2-δ), where h is the mesh spacing of uniform difference grids, and δ is an arbitrarily small, positive number. This convergence rate is better than O(h), obtained by the nonconforming combination of the Ritz-Galerkin and finite element methods.     

Boundary singularities with a simple decomposition

We define the decomposition of a boundary singularity as a pair (a singularity in the ambient space together with a singularity of the restriction to the boundary). We prove that the Lagrange transform is an involution on the set of boundary singularities that interchanges the singularities that occur in the decomposition of a boundary singularity. We classify the boundary singularities for which both of these singularities are simple. Bibliography: 8 titles.Translated fromTrudy Seminara imeni I. G. Petrovskogo, No. 15, pp. 55–69, 1991.     

Finite element solutions for three‐dimensional elliptic boundary value problems on unbounded domains

The finite element (FE) solutions of a general elliptic equation ?div([a_ij] ??u) + u = f in an exterior domain Ω, which is the complement of a bounded subset of R ³, is considered. The most common approach to deal with exterior domain problems is truncating an unbounded subdomain Ω_∞, so that the remaining part Ω_B = Ω\Ω _∞ is bounded, and imposing an artificial boundary condition on the resulted artificial boundary Γ_a = Ω _∞ ∩ Ω _B. In this article, instead of discarding an unbounded subdomain Ω_∞ and introducing an artificial boundary condition, the unbounded domain is mapped to a unit ball by an auxiliary mapping. Then, a similar technique to the method of auxiliary mapping, introduced by Babu?ka and Oh for handling the domain singularities, is applied to obtain an accurate FE solution of this problem at low cost. This method thus does have neither artificial boundary nor any restrictions on f. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Crack Singularities for General Elliptic Systems

We consider general homogeneous Agmon‐Douglis‐Nirenberg elliptic systems with constant coefficients complemented by the same set of boundary conditions on both sides of a crack in a two‐dimensional domain. We prove that the singular functions expressed in polar coordinates (r, θ) near the crack tip all have the form r^{k + 1/2}φ(θ) with k ≥ 0 integer, with the possible exception of a finite number of singularities of the form r^k log r φ(θ). We also prove results about singularities in the case when the boundary conditions on the two sides of the crack are not the same, and in particular in mixed Dirichlet‐Neumann boundary value problems for strongly coercive systems: in the latter case, we prove that the exponents of singularity have the form with real η and integer k. This is valid for general anisotropic elasticity too.     

A nonconforming combined method for solving Laplace's boundary value problems with singularities

Summary For solving Laplace's boundary value problems with singularities, a nonconforming combined approach of the Ritz-Galerkin method and the finite element method is presented. In this approach, singular functions are chosen to be admissible functions in the part of a solution domain where there exist singularities; and piecewise linear functions are chosen to be admissible functions in the rest of the solution domain. In addition, the admissible functions used here are constrained to be continuous only at the element nodes on the common boundary of both methods. This method is nonconforming; however, the nonconforming effect does not result in larger errors of numerical solutions as long as a suitable coupling strategy is used.In this paper, we will develop such an approach by using a new coupling strategy, which is described as follows: IfL+1=O(|lnh|), the average errors of numerical solutions and their generalized derivatives are stillO(h), whereh is the maximal boundary length of quasiuniform triangular elements in the finite element method, andL+1 is the total number of singular admissible functions in the Ritz-Galerkin method. The coupling relation,L+1=O(|lnh|), is significant because only a few singular functions are required for a good approximation of solutions.This material is from Chapter 5 in my Ph.D. thesis: Numerical Methods for Elliptic Boundary Value Problems with Singularities. Part I: Boundary Methods for Solving Elliptic Problems with Singularities. Part II: Nonconforming Combinations for Solving Elliptic Problems with Singularities, the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Toronto, May 1986     

Numerical study of the primitive equations in the small viscosity regime

In this paper we study the flow dynamics governed by the primitive equations in the small viscosity regime. We consider an initial setup consisting on two dipolar structures interacting with a no slip boundary at the bottom of the domain. The generated boundary layer is analyzed in terms of the complex singularities of the horizontal pressure gradient and of the vorticity generated at the boundary. The presence of complex singularities is correlated with the appearance of secondary recirculation regions. Two viscosity regimes, with different qualitative properties, can be distinguished in the flow dynamics.

     

Limit shapes and the complex Burgers equation

In this paper we study surfaces in R ³ that arise as limit shapes in random surface models related to planar dimers. These limit shapes are surface tension minimizers, that is, they minimize a functional of the form ∫σ(∇h) dx dy among all Lipschitz functions h taking given values on the boundary of the domain. The surface tension σ has singularities and is not strictly convex, which leads to formation of facets and edges in the limit shapes. We find a change of variables that reduces the Euler–Lagrange equation for the variational problem to the complex inviscid Burgers equation (complex Hopf equation). The equation can thus be solved in terms of an arbitrary holomorphic function, which is somewhat similar in spirit to Weierstrass parametrization of minimal surfaces. We further show that for a natural dense set of boundary conditions, the holomorphic function in question is, in fact, algebraic. The tools of algebraic geometry can thus be brought in to study the minimizers and, especially, the formation of their singularities. This is illustrated by several explicitly computed examples.     

Variation homological diagrams,¶and corner singularities

We describe the general homological framework (the variation arrays and variation homological diagrams) in which can be studied hypersurface isolated singularities as well as boundary singularities and corner singularities from the point of view of duality. We then show that any corner singularity is extension, in a sense which is defined, of the corner singularities of less dimension on which it is built. This framework is also used to rewrite Thom–Sebastiani type properties for isolated singularities and to establish them for boundary singularities. Received: 27 June 2000 / Revised version: 18 October 2000     

Fine topology and fine trace on the boundary associated with a class of semilinear differential equations

We investigate the set of all positive solutions of a semilinear equation Lu = ψ(u) where L is a second-order elliptic differential operator in a domain E of ℝ^d or, more generally, in a Riemannian manifold and ψ belongs to a wide class of convex functions that contains ψ(u) = u^α for all α > 1. We define boundary singularities of a solution u in terms of points of rapid growth of the right derivative ψ⁺ (u), we introduce a fine topology and a fine trace of u on the Martin boundary, and we construct the minimal solution for every possible value of this trace. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A generalized Green's formula for elliptic problems in domains with edges

The usual Green's formula connected with the operator of a boundary-value problem fails when both of the solutions u and v that occur in it have singularities that are too strong at a conic point or at an edge on the boundary of the domain. We deduce a generalized Green's formula that acquires an additional bilinear form in u and v and is determined by the coefficients in the expansion of solutions near singularities of the boundary. We obtain improved asymptotic representations of solutions in a neighborhood of an edge of positive dimension, which together with the generalized Green's formula makes it possible, for example, to describe the infinite-dimensional kernel of the operator of an elliptic problem in a domain with edge. Bibliography: 14 titles. Translated fromProblemy Matematicheskogo Analiza, No. 13, 1992, pp. 106–147.     

Evolution of nonparametric surfaces with speed depending on curvature II. The mean curvature case

We consider an evolution which starts as a flow of smooth surfaces in nonparametric form propagating in space with normal speed equal to the mean curvature of the current surface. The boundaries of the surfaces are assumed to remain fixed. G. Huisken has shown that if the boundary of the domain over which this flow is considered satisfies the “mean curvature” condition of H. Jenkins and J. Serrin (that is, the boundary of the domain is convex “in the mean”) then the corresponding initial boundary value problem with Dirichlet boundary data and smooth initial data admits a smooth solution for all time. In this paper we consider the case of arbitrary domains with smooth boundaries not necessarily satisfying the condition of Jenkins-Serrin. In this case, even if the flow starts with smooth initial data and homogeneous Dirichlet boundary data, singularities may develop in finite time at the boundary of the domain and the solution will not satisfy the boundary condition. We prove, however, existence of solutions that are smooth inside the domain for all time and become smooth up to the boundary after elapsing of a sufficiently long period of time. From that moment on such solutions assume the boundary values in the classical sense. We also give sufficient conditions that guarantee the existence of classical solutions for all time t ≧ 0. In addition, we establish estimates of the rate at which solutions tend to zero as t → ∞.     

Pseudo‐reflection phenomena for singularities in thin elastic shells

We consider problems of statics of thin elastic shells with hyperbolic middle surface subjected to boundary conditions ensuring the geometric rigidity of the surface. The asymptotic behaviour of the solutions when the relative thickness tends to zero is then given by the membrane approximation. It is a hyperbolic problem propagating singularities along the characteristics. We address here the reflection phenomena when the propagated singularities arrive to a boundary. As the boundary conditions are not the classical ones for a hyperbolic system, there are various cases of reflection. Roughly speaking, singularities provoked elsewhere are not reflected at all at a free boundary, whereas at a fixed (or clamped) boundary the reflected singularity is less singular than the incident one. Reflection of singularities provoked along a non‐characteristic curve C are also considered. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Schwarz-Christoffel mapping of multiply connected domains

A Schwarz-Christoffel mapping formula is established for polygonal domains of finite connectivitym≥2 thereby extending the results of Christoffel (1867) and Schwarz (1869) form=1 and Komatu (1945),m=2. A formula forf, the conformal map of the exterior ofm bounded disks to the exterior ofm bounded disjoint polygons, is derived. The derivation characterizes the global preSchwarzianf″ (z)/f′ (z) on the Riemann sphere in terms of its singularities on the sphere and its values on them boundary circles via the reflection principle and then identifies a singularity function with the same boundary behavior. The singularity function is constructed by a “method of images” infinite sequence of iterations of reflecting prevertex singularities from them boundary circles to the whole sphere.     

Penalty-combined approaches to the Ritz-Galerkin and finite element methods for singularity problems of elliptic equations

Penlty coupling techniques on an interface boundary, artificial or material, are first presented for combining the Ritz–Galerkin and finite element methods. An optimal convergence rate first is proved in the Sobolev norms. Moreover, a significant coupling strategy, L + 1 = O(|ln h|), between these two methods are derived for the Laplace equation with singularities, where L + 1 is the total number of particular solutions used in the Ritz–Galerkin method, and h is the maximal boundary length of quasiuniform elements used in the linear finite element method. Numreical experiments have been carried out for solving the benchmark model: Motz's problem. Both theoretical analysis and numreical experiments clearly display the importance of penalty-combined methods is solving elliptic equations with singularities.     

On the boundary value problem of the biharmonic operator on domains with angular corners

The paper is concerned with boundary singularities of weak solutions of boundary value problems governed by the biharmonic operator. The presence of angular corner points or points at which the type of boundary condition changes in general causes local singularities in the solution. For that case the general theory of V. A. Kondrat'ev provides a priori estimates in weighted Sobolev norms and asymptotic singular representations for the solution which essentially depend on the zeros of certain transcendental functions. The distribution of these zeros will be analysed in detail for the biharmonic operator under several boundary conditions. This leads to sharp a priori estimates in weighted Sobolev norms where the weight function is characterized by the inner angle of the boundary corner. Such estimates for “negative” Sobolev norms are used to analyse also weakly nonlinear perturbations of the biharmonic operator as, for instance, the von Kármán model in plate bending theory and the stream function formulation of the steady state Navier-Stokes problem. It turns out that here the structure of the corner singularities is essentially the same as in the corresponding linear problem.     

An error expansion for cubature with an integrand with homogeneous boundary singularities

Summary A common strategy in the numerical integration over ann-dimensional hypercube or simplex, is to consider a regular subdivision of the integration domain intom ⁿ subdomains and to approximate the integral over each subdomain by means of a cubature formula. An asymptotic error expansion whenm is derived in case of an integrand with homogeneous boundary singularities. The error expansion also copes with the use of different cubature formulas for the boundary subdomains and for the interior subdomains.