A practical finite element approximation of a semi-definite Neumann problem on a curved domain

Summary This paper considers the finite element approximation of the semi-definite Neumann problem: –·(u)=f in a curved domain ⁿ (n=2 or 3), on and , a given constant, for dataf andg satisfying the compatibility condition . Due to perturbation of domain errors ( ^h ) the standard Galerkin approximation to the above problem may not have a solution. A remedy is to perturb the right hand side so that a discrete form of the compatibility condition holds. Using this approach we show that for a finite element space defined overD ^h , a union of elements, with approximation powerh ^k in theL ² norm and with dist (, ^h )Ch ^k , one obtains optimal rates of convergence in theH ¹ andL ² norms whether ^h is fitted ( ^h D ^h ) or unfitted ( ^h D ^h ) provided the numerical integration scheme has sufficient accuracy.Partially supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant #DMS-8501397, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research