Extended local fourier analysis for multigrid optimal smoothing, coarse grid correction, and preconditioning

Multigrid methods are fast iterative solvers for partial di erential equations. Especially for elliptic equations they have been proven to be highly e cient. For problems with nonelliptic and nonsymmetric features--as they often occur in typical real life applications--a rigorous mathematical theory is generally not available. For such situations Fourier smoothing and two-grid analysis can be considered as the main analysis tools to obtain quantitative convergence estimates and to optimize different multigrid components like smoothers or inter-grid transfer operators. In general, it is difficult to choose the correct multigrid components for large classes of problems. A popular alternative to construct a robust solver is the use of multigrid as a preconditioner for a Krylov subspace acceleration method like GMRES. Our contributions to the Fourier analysis for multigrid are two-fold. Firstly we extend the range of situations for which the Fourier analysis can be applied. More precisely, the Fourier analysis is generalized to k-grid cycles and to multigrid as a preconditioner. With a k-grid analysis it is possible to investigate real multigrid effects which cannot be captured by the classical two-grid analysis. Moreover, the k-grid analysis allows for a more detailed investigation of possible coarse grid correction difficulties. Additional valuable insight is obtained by evaluating multigrid as a preconditioner for GMRES. Secondly we extend the range of discretizations and multigrid components for which detailed Fourier analysis results exist. We consider four well-known singularly perturbed model problems to demonstrate the usefulness of the above generalizations: The anisotropic Poisson equation, the rotated anisotropic diffusion equation, the convection diffusion equation with dominant convection, and the driven cavity problem governed by the incompressible Navier Stokes equations. Each of these equations represents a larger class of problems with similar features and complications which are of practical relevance. With the help of the newly developed Fourier analysis methods, a comprehensive study of characteristic difficulties for singular perturbation problems can be performed. Based on the insights from this analysis it is possible to identify remedies resulting in an improved multigrid convergence. The theoretical considerations are validated by numerical test calculations

On multigrid for anisotropic equations and variational inequalities: pricing multi-dimensional European and American options

Partial differential operators in finance often originate in bounded linear stochastic processes. As a consequence, diffusion over these boundaries is zero and the corresponding coefficients vanish. The choice of parameters and stretched grids lead to additional anisotropies in the discrete equations or inequalities. In this study various block smoothers are tested in numerical experiments for equations of Black–Scholes-type (European options) in several dimensions. For linear complementarity problems, as they arise from optimal stopping time problems (American options), the choice of grid transfer is also crucial to preserve complementarity conditions on all grid levels. We adapt the transfer operators at the free boundary in a suitable way and compare with other strategies including cascadic approaches and full approximation schemes

On multigrid for anisotropic equations and variational inequalities: pricing multi-dimensional European and American options

Partial differential operators in finance often originate in bounded linear stochastic processes. As a consequence, diffusion over these boundaries is zero and the corresponding coefficients vanish. The choice of parameters and stretched grids lead to additional anisotropies in the discrete equations or inequalities. In this study various block smoothers are tested in numerical experiments for equations of Black–Scholes-type (European options) in several dimensions. For linear complementarity problems, as they arise from optimal stopping time problems (American options), the choice of grid transfer is also crucial to preserve complementarity conditions on all grid levels. We adapt the transfer operators at the free boundary in a suitable way and compare with other strategies including cascadic approaches and full approximation schemes

Efficient Multigrid Preconditioners for Atmospheric Flow Simulations at High Aspect Ratio

Many problems in fluid modelling require the efficient solution of highly anisotropic elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) in "flat" domains. For example, in numerical weather- and climate-prediction an elliptic PDE for the pressure correction has to be solved at every time step in a thin spherical shell representing the global atmosphere. This elliptic solve can be one of the computationally most demanding components in semi-implicit semi-Lagrangian time stepping methods which are very popular as they allow for larger model time steps and better overall performance. With increasing model resolution, algorithmically efficient and scalable algorithms are essential to run the code under tight operational time constraints. We discuss the theory and practical application of bespoke geometric multigrid preconditioners for equations of this type. The algorithms deal with the strong anisotropy in the vertical direction by using the tensor-product approach originally analysed by B\"{o}rm and Hiptmair [Numer. Algorithms, 26/3 (2001), pp. 219-234]. We extend the analysis to three dimensions under slightly weakened assumptions, and numerically demonstrate its efficiency for the solution of the elliptic PDE for the global pressure correction in atmospheric forecast models. For this we compare the performance of different multigrid preconditioners on a tensor-product grid with a semi-structured and quasi-uniform horizontal mesh and a one dimensional vertical grid. The code is implemented in the Distributed and Unified Numerics Environment (DUNE), which provides an easy-to-use and scalable environment for algorithms operating on tensor-product grids. Parallel scalability of our solvers on up to 20,480 cores is demonstrated on the HECToR supercomputer.Comment: 22 pages, 6 Figures, 2 Table

A Semicoarsening Multigrid Algorithm for SIMD Machines

A semicoarsening multigrid algorithm suitable for use on single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architectures has been implemented on the CM-2. The method performs well for strongly anisotropic problems and for problems with coefficients jumping by orders of magnitude across internal interfaces. The parallel efficiency of this method is analyzed, and its actual performance is compared with its performance on some other machines, both parallel and nonparallel