Quasi-norm a priori and a posteriori error estimates for the nonconforming approximation of p-Laplacian

Summary. In this paper, we derive quasi-norm a priori and a posteriori error estimates for the Crouzeix-Raviart type finite element approximation of the p-Laplacian. Sharper a priori upper error bounds are obtained. For instance, for sufficiently regular solutions we prove optimal a priori error bounds on the discretization error in an energy norm when . We also show that the new a posteriori error estimates provide improved upper and lower bounds on the discretization error. For sufficiently regular solutions, the a posteriori error estimates are further shown to be equivalent on the discretization error in a quasi-norm. Received January 25, 1999 / Revised version received June 5, 2000 Published online March 20, 2001     

Identifying an unknown source in the Poisson equation by the method of Tikhonov regularization in Hilbert scales

In this paper, we consider the problem for identifying the unknown source in the Poisson equation. The Tikhonov regularization method in Hilbert scales is extended to deal with illposedness of the problem and error estimates are obtained with an a priori strategy and an a posteriori choice rule to find the regularization parameter. The user does not need to estimate the smoothness parameter and the a priori bound of the exact solution when the a posteriori choice rule is used. Numerical examples show that the proposed method is effective and stable.     

A priori error analysis of two force-based atomistic/continuum models of a periodic chain

The force-based quasicontinuum (QCF) approximation is a non-conservative atomistic/continuum hybrid model for the simulation of defects in crystals. We present an a priori error analysis of the QCF method, applied to a one-dimensional periodic chain, that is valid for an arbitrary interaction range, large deformations, and takes coarse-graining into account. Our main tool in this analysis is a new concept of atomistic stress. Moreover, we formulate a new atomistic/continuum coupling mechanism based on coupling stresses instead of forces and extend the a priori analysis to this new method. We show that the new method has several theoretical advantages over the original QCF method.     

A note on a priori error estimates for augmented mixed methods

In this note we describe a strategy that improves the a priori error bounds for augmented mixed methods under appropriate hypotheses. This means that we can derive a priori error estimates for each one of the involved unknowns. Usually, the standard a priori error estimate is for the total error. Finally, a numerical example is included, that illustrates the theoretical results proven in this paper.     

A Priori and A Posteriori: A Bootstrapping Relationship

The distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge has been the subject of an enormous amount of discussion, but the literature is biased against recognizing the intimate relationship between these forms of knowledge. For instance, it seems to be almost impossible to find a sample of pure a priori or a posteriori knowledge. In this paper, it will be suggested that distinguishing between a priori and a posteriori is more problematic than is often suggested, and that a priori and a posteriori resources are in fact used in parallel. We will define this relationship between a priori and a posteriori knowledge as the bootstrapping relationship. As we will see, this relationship gives us reasons to seek for an altogether novel definition of a priori and a posteriori knowledge. Specifically, we will have to analyse the relationship between a priori knowledge and a priori reasoning, and it will be suggested that the latter serves as a more promising starting point for the analysis of aprioricity. We will also analyse a number of examples from the natural sciences and consider the role of a priori reasoning in these examples. The focus of this paper is the analysis of the concepts of a priori and a posteriori knowledge rather than the epistemic domain of a posteriori and a priori justification.     

Asymptotic justification of the intrinsic equations of Koiter's model of a linearly elastic shell

We show that the intrinsic equations of Koiter's model of a linearly elastic shell can be derived from the intrinsic formulation of the three-dimensional equations of a linearly elastic shell, by using an appropriate a priori assumption regarding the three-dimensional strain tensor fields appearing in these equations. To this end, we recast in particular the Dirichlet boundary conditions satisfied by any admissible displacement field as boundary conditions satisfied by the covariant components of the corresponding strain tensor field expressed in the natural curvilinear coordinates of the shell. Then we show that, when restricted to strain tensor fields satisfying a specific a priori assumption, these new boundary conditions reduce to those of the intrinsic equations of Koiter's model of a linearly elastic shell.     

A priori estimate for convex solutions to special Lagrangian equations and its application

We derive a priori interior Hessian estimates for special Lagrangian equations when the potential is convex. When the phase is very large, we show that continuous viscosity solutions are smooth in the interior of the domain. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Existence for a degenerate Cauchy problem

We prove the existence of a solution to the degenerate parabolic Cauchy problem with a possibly unbounded Radon measure as an initial data. To accomplish this, we establish a priori estimates and derive a compactness result. We also show that the result is optimal in the Euclidian setting.     

A New Definition of A Priori Knowledge: In Search of a Modal Basis

In this paper I will offer a novel understanding of a priori knowledge. My claim is that the sharp distinction that is usually made between a priori and a posteriori knowledge is groundless. It will be argued that a plausible understanding of a priori and a posteriori knowledge has to acknowledge that they are in a constant bootstrapping relationship. It is also crucial that we distinguish between a priori propositions that hold in the actual world and merely possible, non-actual a priori propositions, as we will see when considering cases like Euclidean geometry. Furthermore, contrary to what Kripke seems to suggest, a priori knowledge is intimately connected with metaphysical modality, indeed, grounded in it. The task of a priori reasoning, according to this account, is to delimit the space of metaphysically possible worlds in order for us to be able to determine what is actual.     

Friedrichs Method in a Lyapunov Problem

By using the well-known Friedrichs extension and some a priori inequality, we obtain weak solutions of a Lyapunov equation. In particular, we show that the Lyapunov functions satisfying necessary and sufficient conditions in the domain of asymptotic stability of a singular point some dynamical system must be absolutely continuous.     

An efficient discretization scheme for solving ill-posed problems

In this paper, we consider a finite-dimensional approximation scheme combined with Tikhonov regularization for solving ill-posed problems. Error estimates are obtained by an a priori parameter choice strategy and the results show that the amount of discrete information required for solving the problem is far less than the traditional finite-dimensional approach.     

On the existence of optimal controls for nonlinear infinite dimensional systems

We consider nonlinear systems with a priori feedback. We establish the existence of admissible pairs and then we show that the Lagrange optimal control problem admits an optimal pair. As application we work out in detail two examples of optimal control problems for nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations.     

An augmented mixed finite element method with Lagrange multipliers: A priori and a posteriori error analyses

In this paper, we provide a priori and a posteriori error analyses of an augmented mixed finite element method with Lagrange multipliers applied to elliptic equations in divergence form with mixed boundary conditions. The augmented scheme is obtained by including the Galerkin least-squares terms arising from the constitutive and equilibrium equations. We use the classical Babuška–Brezzi theory to show that the resulting dual-mixed variational formulation and its Galerkin scheme defined with Raviart–Thomas spaces are well posed, and also to derive the corresponding a priori error estimates and rates of convergence. Then, we develop a reliable and efficient residual-based a posteriori error estimate and a reliable and quasi-efficient Ritz projection-based one, as well. Finally, several numerical results illustrating the performance of the augmented scheme and the associated adaptive algorithms are reported.     

Local search for the probabilistic traveling salesman problem: Correction to the 2-p-opt and 1-shift algorithms

The probabilistic traveling salesman problem concerns the best way to visit a set of customers located in some metric space, where each customer requires a visit only with some known probability. A solution to this problem is an a priori tour which visits all customers, and the objective is to minimize the expected length of the a priori tour over all customer subsets, assuming that customers in any given subset must be visited in the same order as they appear in the a priori tour. This problem belongs to the class of stochastic vehicle routing problems, a class which has received increasing attention in recent years, and which is of major importance in real world applications.Several heuristics have been proposed and tested for the probabilistic traveling salesman problem, many of which are a straightforward adaptation of heuristics for the classical traveling salesman problem. In particular, two local search algorithms (2-p-opt and 1-shift) were introduced by Bertsimas.In a previous report we have shown that the expressions for the cost evaluation of 2-p-opt and 1-shift moves, as proposed by Bertsimas, are not correct. In this paper we derive the correct versions of these expressions, and we show that the local search algorithms based on these expressions perform significantly better than those exploiting the incorrect expressions.     

Robustesse de la solution des problemes de filtrage avec bruit blanc independant †

We suppose that the observation of a signal process is corrupted by an independent white noise. In a case which is more general than the classical case of semimartingales, we construct the optimal estimate of the signal as a continuous function on the space of observation trajectories. We show that moreover, it is continuous in a certain sense with respect to the a priori law of the signal     

Well-posedness of hyperbolic initial boundary value problems

Assuming that a hyperbolic initial boundary value problem satisfies an a priori energy estimate with a loss of one tangential derivative, we show a well-posedness result in the sense of Hadamard. The coefficients are assumed to have only finite smoothness in view of applications to nonlinear problems. This shows that the weak Lopatinskii condition is roughly sufficient to ensure well-posedness in appropriate functional spaces.     

The inverse problem for differential pencils on a star-shaped graph with mixed spectral data

The partial inverse problem for differential pencils on a star-shaped graph is studied from mixed spectral data.More precisely,we show that if the potentials on all edges on the star-shaped graph but one are known a priori then the unknown potential on the remaining edge can be uniquely determined by partial information on the potential and a part of eigenvalues.     

A priori error estimates for upwind finite volume schemes for two-dimensional linear convection diffusion problems

It is still an open problem to prove a priori error estimates for finite volume schemes of higher order MUSCL type, including limiters, on unstructured meshes, which show some improvement compared to first order schemes. In this paper we use these higher order schemes for the discretization of convection dominated elliptic problems in a convex bounded domain Ω in R² and we can prove such kind of an a priori error estimate. In the part of the estimate, which refers to the discretization of the convective term, we gain h^1/2. Although the original problem is linear, the numerical problem becomes nonlinear, due to MUSCL type reconstruction/limiter technique.     

A new regularization method for solving a time-fractional inverse diffusion problem

In this paper, we consider an inverse problem for a time-fractional diffusion equation in a one-dimensional semi-infinite domain. The temperature and heat flux are sought from a measured temperature history at a fixed location inside the body. We show that such problem is severely ill-posed and further apply a new regularization method to solve it based on the solution given by the Fourier method. Convergence estimates are presented under the a priori bound assumptions for the exact solution. Finally, numerical examples are given to show that the proposed numerical method is effective.     

Spectral regularization method for solving a time-fractional inverse diffusion problem

In this paper, we consider an inverse problem for a time-fractional diffusion equation with one-dimensional semi-infinite domain. The temperature and heat flux are sought from a measured temperature history at a fixed location inside the body. We show that such problem is severely ill-posed and further apply a spectral regularization method to solve it based on the solution given by the Fourier method. Convergence estimates are presented under a priori bound assumptions for the exact solution. Finally, numerical examples are given to show that the proposed numerical method is effective.