Why diffusion-based preconditioning of Richards equation works: spectral analysis and computational experiments at very large scale

We consider here a cell-centered finite difference approximation of the Richards equation in three dimensions, averaging for interface values the hydraulic conductivity $K=K(p)$, a highly nonlinear function, by arithmetic, upstream, and harmonic means. The nonlinearities in the equation can lead to changes in soil conductivity over several orders of magnitude and discretizations with respect to space variables often produce stiff systems of differential equations. A fully implicit time discretization is provided by \emph{backward Euler} one-step formula; the resulting nonlinear algebraic system is solved by an inexact Newton Armijo-Goldstein algorithm, requiring the solution of a sequence of linear systems involving Jacobian matrices. We prove some new results concerning the distribution of the Jacobians eigenvalues and the explicit expression of their entries. Moreover, we explore some connections between the saturation of the soil and the ill-conditioning of the Jacobians. The information on eigenvalues justifies the effectiveness of some preconditioner approaches which are widely used in the solution of Richards equation. We also propose a new software framework to experiment with scalable and robust preconditioners suitable for efficient parallel simulations at very large scales. Performance results on a literature test case show that our framework is very promising in the advance towards realistic simulations at extreme scale

Preconditioned fast solvers for large linear systems with specific sparse and/or Toeplitz-like structures and applications

In this thesis, the design of the preconditioners we propose starts from applications instead of treating the problem in a completely general way. The reason is that not all types of linear systems can be addressed with the same tools. In this sense, the techniques for designing efficient iterative solvers depends mostly on properties inherited from the continuous problem, that has originated the discretized sequence of matrices. Classical examples are locality, isotropy in the PDE context, whose discrete counterparts are sparsity and matrices constant along the diagonals, respectively. Therefore, it is often important to take into account the properties of the originating continuous model for obtaining better performances and for providing an accurate convergence analysis. We consider linear systems that arise in the solution of both linear and nonlinear partial differential equation of both integer and fractional type. For the latter case, an introduction to both the theory and the numerical treatment is given. All the algorithms and the strategies presented in this thesis are developed having in mind their parallel implementation. In particular, we consider the processor-co-processor framework, in which the main part of the computation is performed on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) accelerator. In Part I we introduce our proposal for sparse approximate inverse preconditioners for either the solution of time-dependent Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), Chapter 3, and Fractional Differential Equations (FDEs), containing both classical and fractional terms, Chapter 5. More precisely, we propose a new technique for updating preconditioners for dealing with sequences of linear systems for PDEs and FDEs, that can be used also to compute matrix functions of large matrices via quadrature formula in Chapter 4 and for optimal control of FDEs in Chapter 6. At last, in Part II, we consider structured preconditioners for quasi-Toeplitz systems. The focus is towards the numerical treatment of discretized convection-diffusion equations in Chapter 7 and on the solution of FDEs with linear multistep formula in boundary value form in Chapter 8

Preconditioned fast solvers for large linear systems with specific sparse and/or Toeplitz-like structures and applications

In this thesis, the design of the preconditioners we propose starts from applications instead of treating the problem in a completely general way. The reason is that not all types of linear systems can be addressed with the same tools. In this sense, the techniques for designing efficient iterative solvers depends mostly on properties inherited from the continuous problem, that has originated the discretized sequence of matrices. Classical examples are locality, isotropy in the PDE context, whose discrete counterparts are sparsity and matrices constant along the diagonals, respectively. Therefore, it is often important to take into account the properties of the originating continuous model for obtaining better performances and for providing an accurate convergence analysis. We consider linear systems that arise in the solution of both linear and nonlinear partial differential equation of both integer and fractional type. For the latter case, an introduction to both the theory and the numerical treatment is given. All the algorithms and the strategies presented in this thesis are developed having in mind their parallel implementation. In particular, we consider the processor-co-processor framework, in which the main part of the computation is performed on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) accelerator. In Part I we introduce our proposal for sparse approximate inverse preconditioners for either the solution of time-dependent Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), Chapter 3, and Fractional Differential Equations (FDEs), containing both classical and fractional terms, Chapter 5. More precisely, we propose a new technique for updating preconditioners for dealing with sequences of linear systems for PDEs and FDEs, that can be used also to compute matrix functions of large matrices via quadrature formula in Chapter 4 and for optimal control of FDEs in Chapter 6. At last, in Part II, we consider structured preconditioners for quasi-Toeplitz systems. The focus is towards the numerical treatment of discretized convection-diffusion equations in Chapter 7 and on the solution of FDEs with linear multistep formula in boundary value form in Chapter 8

A Fully Parallelized and Budgeted Multi-level Monte Carlo Framework for Partial Differential Equations: From Mathematical Theory to Automated Large-Scale Computations

All collected data on any physical, technical or economical process is subject to uncertainty. By incorporating this uncertainty in the model and propagating it through the system, this data error can be controlled. This makes the predictions of the system more trustworthy and reliable. The multi-level Monte Carlo (MLMC) method has proven to be an effective uncertainty quantification tool, requiring little knowledge about the problem while being highly performant. In this doctoral thesis we analyse, implement, develop and apply the MLMC method to partial differential equations (PDEs) subject to high-dimensional random input data. We set up a unified framework based on the software M++ to approximate solutions to elliptic and hyperbolic PDEs with a large selection of finite element methods. We combine this setup with a new variant of the MLMC method. In particular, we propose a budgeted MLMC (BMLMC) method which is capable to optimally invest reserved computing resources in order to minimize the model error while exhausting a given computational budget. This is achieved by developing a new parallelism based on a single distributed data structure, employing ideas of the continuation MLMC method and utilizing dynamic programming techniques. The final method is theoretically motivated, analyzed, and numerically well-tested in an automated benchmarking workflow for highly challenging problems like the approximation of wave equations in randomized media

Acoustic source localization : exploring theory and practice

Over the past few decades, noise pollution became an important issue in modern society. This has led to an increased effort in the industry to reduce noise. Acoustic source localization methods determine the location and strength of the vibrations which are the cause of sound based onmeasurements of the sound field. This thesis describes a theoretical study of many facets of the acoustic source localization problem as well as the development, implementation and validation of new source localization methods. The main objective is to increase the range of applications of inverse acoustics and to develop accurate and computationally efficient methods for each of these applications. Four applications are considered. Firstly, the inverse acoustic problem is considered where the source and the measurement points are located on two parallel planes. A new fast method to solve this problem is developed and it is compared to the existing method planar nearfield acoustic holography (PNAH) from a theoretical point of view, as well as by means of simulations and experiments. Both methods are fast but the newmethod yields more robust and accurate results. Secondly, measurements in inverse acoustics are often point-by-point or full array measurements. However a straightforward and cost-effective alternative to these approaches is a sensor or array which moves through the sound field during the measurement to gather sound field information. The same numerical techniques make it possible to apply inverse acoustics to the case where the source moves and the sensors are fixed in space. It is shown that the inverse methods such as the inverse boundary element method (IBEM) can be applied to this problem. To arrive at an accurate representation of the sound field, an optimized signal processing method is applied and it is shown experimentally that this method leads to accurate results. Thirdly, a theoretical framework is established for the inverse acoustical problem where the sound field and the source are represented by a cross-spectral matrix. This problem is important in inverse acoustics because it occurs in the inverse calculation of sound intensity. The existing methods for this problem are analyzed from a theoretical point of view using this framework and a new method is derived from it. A simulation study indicates that the new method improves the results by 30% in some cases and the results are similar otherwise. Finally, the localization of point sources in the acoustic near field is considered. MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) is newly applied to the Boundary element method (BEM) for this purpose. It is shown that this approach makes it possible to localize point sources accurately even if the noise level is extremely high or if the number of sensors is low