A new coupling of mixed finite element and boundary element methods for an exterior Helmholtz problem in the plane

This paper deals with the scattering of time harmonic electromagnetic waves by an infinitely long cylinder containing a non-homogeneous conducting medium. More precisely, we study the transverse magnetic field that solves an interface problem holding between the cross section of the cylinder and the exterior two-dimensional free space. We apply a dual-mixed variational formulation in the obstacle coupled with a boundary integral equation method in the unbounded homogeneous space. A Fredholm alternative is utilized to prove that this continuous formulation is well posed. We define the corresponding discrete scheme by using the lowest order rotated Raviart-Thomas finite elements for the magnetic field and spectral elements for the boundary unknown. Then, we show that the resulting Galerkin scheme is uniquely solvable and convergent, and prove optimal error estimates. Finally, we illustrate our analysis with some results from computational experiments. This research was partially supported by CONICYT-Chile through the FONDAP Program in Applied Mathematics, by the Dirección de Investigación of the Universidad de Concepción through the Advanced Research Groups Program, and by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of Spain, through the project No. MTM2004-05417.