Two families of mixed finite elements for second order elliptic problems

Summary Two families of mixed finite elements, one based on triangles and the other on rectangles, are introduced as alternatives to the usual Raviart-Thomas-Nedelec spaces. Error estimates inL ² () andH ^–5 () are derived for these elements. A hybrid version of the mixed method is also considered, and some superconvergence phenomena are discussed.     

Is Gauss quadrature optimal for analytic functions?

Summary We consider the problem of optimal quadratures for integrandsf: [–1,1] which have an analytic extension to an open diskD _r of radiusr about the origin such that 1 on . Ifr=1, we show that the penalty for sampling the integrand at zeros of the Legendre polynomial of degreen rather than at optimal points, tends to infinity withn. In particular there is an infinite penalty for using Gauss quadrature. On the other hand, ifr>1, Gauss quadrature is almost optimal. These results hold for both the worst-case and asymptotic settings.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants MCS-8203271 and MCS-8303111This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant MCS-8923676     

The convergence of spline collocation for strongly elliptic equations on curves

Summary Most boundary element methods for two-dimensional boundary value problems are based on point collocation on the boundary and the use of splines as trial functions. Here we present a unified asymptotic error analysis for even as well as for odd degree splines subordinate to uniform or smoothly graded meshes and prove asymptotic convergence of optimal order. The equations are collocated at the breakpoints for odd degree and the internodal midpoints for even degree splines. The crucial assumption for the generalized boundary integral and integro-differential operators is strong ellipticity. Our analysis is based on simple Fourier expansions. In particular, we extend results by J. Saranen and W.L. Wendland from constant to variable coefficient equations. Our results include the first convergence proof of midpoint collocation with piecewise constant functions, i.e., the panel method for solving systems of Cauchy singular integral equations.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Lothar Collatz on the occasion of his 75th birthdayThis work was begun at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt where Professor Arnold was supported by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Postdoctoral Fellowship. The work of Professor Arnold is supported by NSF grant BMS-8313247. The work of Professor Wendland was supported by the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk     

Numerical solution of delay differential equations by uniform corrections to an implicit Runge-Kutta method

Summary In this paper we develop a class of numerical methods to approximate the solutions of delay differential equations. They are essentially based on a modified version, in a predictor-corrector mode, of the one-step collocation method atn Gaussian points. These methods, applied to ODE's, provide a continuous approximate solution which is accurate of order 2n at the nodes and of ordern+1 uniformly in the whole interval. In order to extend the methods to delay differential equations, the uniform accuracy is raised to the order 2n by some a posteriori corrections. Numerical tests and comparisons with other methods are made on real-life problems.This work was supported by CNR within the Progetto Finalizzato Informatica-Sottopr. P1-SOFMAT     

A three-dimensional quadratic nonconforming element

Summary We define a second-degree nonconforming element on tetrahedra. We build a basis for the opproximation space derived from this element. We prove a discrete regularity property similar to the one that holds for the corresponding two-dimensional element.This work was partly supported by NSERC and by the Ministère de l'Education du Québec     

On constrained multivariate splines and their approximations

Summary The variational formulation of multivariate spline functions is generalized to include cases where the function has to satisfy inequality constraints such as positivity and convexity. Condition for existence and uniqueness of a solution is given. Approximation to the solution can be obtained by solving the variational problem in a finite dimensional subspace. Conditions for convergence and error estimates of the approximations are presented, both for interpolation problems and smoothing problems. The general theory is illustrated by specific examples including the volume-matching problem and the one-sided thin plate spline.This research is partially supported by the U.S. Army Contract No. DAAG 29-77-G-0207, and by NSF Grant No. MCS-8101836Part of this paper is based on Chapters 2 and 3 of the author's Ph. D. thesis. The author would like to express his sincere thanks to Professor Grance Wahba and to two referees for many helpful comments     

Solution manifolds and submanifolds of parametrized equations and their discretization errors

Summary The paper concerns solution manifolds of nonlinear parameterdependent equations (1)F(u, )=y₀ involving a Fredholm operatorF between (infinite-dimensional) Banach spacesX=Z× andY, and a finitedimensional parameter space . Differntial-geometric ideas are used to discuss the connection between augmented equations and certain onedimensional submanifolds produced by numerical path-tracing procedures. Then, for arbitrary (finite) dimension of , estimates of the error between the solution manifold of (1) and its discretizations are developed. These estimates are shown to be applicable to rather general nonlinear boundaryvalue problems for partial differential equations.This work was in part supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant 80-0176, the National Science Foundation under Grant MCS-78-05299, and the Office of Naval Research under Contract N-00014-80-C-0455     

Quartic X-splines

Summary The quartic periodic and nonperiodic X-spline are separated from the class of all piecewise-quartic interpolatory polynomials and their orders of convergence, smoothness and complexity of construction are examined. In particular, error estimates of interpolation of smooth functions at uniformly spaced knots by eight quartic X-splines of special interest are presented. The results are illustrated by a numerical example.     

On two methods for accelerating convergence of series

Summary The Euler-Knopp transformation and a recently considered transformation, effective for entire function of order 1, are applied to series involving completely monotonic coefficients. Some properties of the resulting series are analyzed; these include uniform convergence with respect to the index, a priori and a posteriori estimates of the remainder. For the latter transformation a compact recursive algorithm is established which enables one to make effective use of the transformation. To illustrate the effectiveness of the transformations three applications, with examples, are included.     

On cubature formulae with a minimal number of knots

Summary In this paper an approach is outlined to the two-dimensional analogon of the Gaussian quadrature problem. The main results are necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of cubature formulae which are exact for all polynomials of degree m and which have a minimal number of 1/2k(k+1) knots,k=[m/2]+1. Ifm is odd, similar results are due to I.P. Mysovskikh ([5, 6]) which will be derived in a new way as a special case of the general characterization given here. Furthermore, it will be shown how this characterization can be used to construct minimal formulae of even degree.