Explicit local time-stepping methods for time-dependent wave propagation

Semi-discrete Galerkin formulations of transient wave equations, either with conforming or discontinuous Galerkin finite element discretizations, typically lead to large systems of ordinary differential equations. When explicit time integration is used, the time-step is constrained by the smallest elements in the mesh for numerical stability, possibly a high price to pay. To overcome that overly restrictive stability constraint on the time-step, yet without resorting to implicit methods, explicit local time-stepping schemes (LTS) are presented here for transient wave equations either with or without damping. In the undamped case, leap-frog based LTS methods lead to high-order explicit LTS schemes, which conserve the energy. In the damped case, when energy is no longer conserved, Adams-Bashforth based LTS methods also lead to explicit LTS schemes of arbitrarily high accuracy. When combined with a finite element discretization in space with an essentially diagonal mass matrix, the resulting time-marching schemes are fully explicit and thus inherently parallel. Numerical experiments with continuous and discontinuous Galerkin finite element discretizations validate the theory and illustrate the usefulness of these local time-stepping methods.Comment: overview paper, typos added, references updated. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1109.448

Numerical wave propagation for the triangular P1DGP1_{DG}-P2P2 finite element pair

Inertia-gravity mode and Rossby mode dispersion properties are examined for discretisations of the linearized rotating shallow-water equations using the $P1_{DG}$-$P2$ finite element pair on arbitrary triangulations in planar geometry. A discrete Helmholtz decomposition of the functions in the velocity space based on potentials taken from the pressure space is used to provide a complete description of the numerical wave propagation for the discretised equations. In the $f$-plane case, this decomposition is used to obtain decoupled equations for the geostrophic modes, the inertia-gravity modes, and the inertial oscillations. As has been noticed previously, the geostrophic modes are steady. The Helmholtz decomposition is used to show that the resulting inertia-gravity wave equation is third-order accurate in space. In general the \pdgp finite element pair is second-order accurate, so this leads to very accurate wave propagation. It is further shown that the only spurious modes supported by this discretisation are spurious inertial oscillations which have frequency $f$, and which do not propagate. The Helmholtz decomposition also allows a simple derivation of the quasi-geostrophic limit of the discretised $P1_{DG}$-$P2$ equations in the $\beta$-plane case, resulting in a Rossby wave equation which is also third-order accurate.Comment: Revised version prior to final journal submissio