Convergence to steady state of solutions of Burgers' equation

Consider the initial boundary value problem for Burgers' equation. It is shown that its solutions converge, in time, to a unique steady state. The speed of the convergence depends on the boundary conditions and can be exponentially slow. Methods to speed up the rate of convergence are also discussed

Numerical stability for finite difference approximations of Einstein's equations

We extend the notion of numerical stability of finite difference approximations to include hyperbolic systems that are first order in time and second order in space, such as those that appear in Numerical Relativity. By analyzing the symbol of the second order system, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for stability in a discrete norm containing one-sided difference operators. We prove stability for certain toy models and the linearized Nagy-Ortiz-Reula formulation of Einstein's equations. We also find that, unlike in the fully first order case, standard discretizations of some well-posed problems lead to unstable schemes and that the Courant limits are not always simply related to the characteristic speeds of the continuum problem. Finally, we propose methods for testing stability for second order in space hyperbolic systems.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

On the smallest scale for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

It is proven that for solutions to the two- and three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations the minimum scale is inversely proportional to the square root of the Reynolds number based on the kinematic viscosity and the maximum of the velocity gradients. The bounds on the velocity gradients can be obtained for two-dimensional flows, but have to be assumed to be three-dimensional. Numerical results in two dimensions are given which illustrate and substantiate the features of the proof. Implications of the minimum scale result to the decay rate of the energy spectrum are discussed

Accurate black hole evolutions by fourth-order numerical relativity

We present techniques for successfully performing numerical relativity simulations of binary black holes with fourth-order accuracy. Our simulations are based on a new coding framework which currently supports higher order finite differencing for the BSSN formulation of Einstein's equations, but which is designed to be readily applicable to a broad class of formulations. We apply our techniques to a standard set of numerical relativity test problems, demonstrating the fourth-order accuracy of the solutions. Finally we apply our approach to binary black hole head-on collisions, calculating the waveforms of gravitational radiation generated and demonstrating significant improvements in waveform accuracy over second-order methods with typically achievable numerical resolution.Comment: 17 pages, 25 figure

The analysis and modeling of dilatational terms in compressible turbulence

It is shown that the dilatational terms that need to be modeled in compressible turbulence include not only the pressure-dilatation term but also another term - the compressible dissipation. The nature of these dilatational terms in homogeneous turbulence is explored by asymptotic analysis of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A non-dimensional parameter which characterizes some compressible effects in moderate Mach number, homogeneous turbulence is identified. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of isotropic, compressible turbulence are performed, and their results are found to be in agreement with the theoretical analysis. A model for the compressible dissipation is proposed; the model is based on the asymptotic analysis and the direct numerical simulations. This model is calibrated with reference to the DNS results regarding the influence of compressibility on the decay rate of isotropic turbulence. An application of the proposed model to the compressible mixing layer has shown that the model is able to predict the dramatically reduced growth rate of the compressible mixing layer

Initialization of the shallow water equations with open boundaries by the bounded derivative method

The shallow water equations are a symmetric hyperbolic system with two time scales. In meteorological terms, slow and fast scale motions are referred to as Rossby and inertial/gravity waves, respectively. We prove the existence of smooth solutions (solutions with a number of space and time derivatives on the order of the slow time scale) of the open boundary problem for the shallow water equations by the bounded derivative method. The proof requires that a number of initial time derivatives be of the order of the slow time scale and that the boundary data be smooth. If the boundary data are smooth and only have small errors, then we show that the solution of the open boundary problem is smooth and that only small errors are produced in the interior. If the boundary data are smooth but have large errors, then we show that the solution of the open boundary problem is still smooth. Unfortunately the boundary error propagates into the interior at the speed associated with the fast time scale and destroys the solution in a short time. Thus it is necessary to keep the boundary error small if the solution is to be computed correctly. We show that this restriction can be relaxed so that only the large-scale boundary data need be correct. We demonstrate the importance of these conclusions in several numerical experiments

The Well-posedness of the Null-Timelike Boundary Problem for Quasilinear Waves

The null-timelike initial-boundary value problem for a hyperbolic system of equations consists of the evolution of data given on an initial characteristic surface and on a timelike worldtube to produce a solution in the exterior of the worldtube. We establish the well-posedness of this problem for the evolution of a quasilinear scalar wave by means of energy estimates. The treatment is given in characteristic coordinates and thus provides a guide for developing stable finite difference algorithms. A new technique underlying the approach has potential application to other characteristic initial-boundary value problems.Comment: Version to appear in Class. Quantum Gra

On the well posedness of the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of Einstein's field equations

We give a well posed initial value formulation of the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura form of Einstein's equations with gauge conditions given by a Bona-Masso like slicing condition for the lapse and a frozen shift. This is achieved by introducing extra variables and recasting the evolution equations into a first order symmetric hyperbolic system. We also consider the presence of artificial boundaries and derive a set of boundary conditions that guarantee that the resulting initial-boundary value problem is well posed, though not necessarily compatible with the constraints. In the case of dynamical gauge conditions for the lapse and shift we obtain a class of evolution equations which are strongly hyperbolic and so yield well posed initial value formulations

A posteriori error bounds for discontinuous Galerkin methods for quasilinear parabolic problems

We derive a posteriori error bounds for a quasilinear parabolic problem, which is approximated by the $hp$-version interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin method (IPDG). The error is measured in the energy norm. The theory is developed for the semidiscrete case for simplicity, allowing to focus on the challenges of a posteriori error control of IPDG space-discretizations of strictly monotone quasilinear parabolic problems. The a posteriori bounds are derived using the elliptic reconstruction framework, utilizing available a posteriori error bounds for the corresponding steady-state elliptic problem.Comment: 8 pages, conference ENUMATH 200

Boundary conditions and stability of a perfectly matched layer for the elastic wave equation in first order form

The article of record as published by be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2015.09.048In computations, it is now common to surround artificial boundaries of a computational domain with a perfectly matched layer (PML) of finite thickness in order to prevent artificially reflected waves from contaminating a numerical simulation. Unfortunately, the PML does not give us an indication about appropriate boundary conditions needed to close the edges of the PML, or how those boundary conditions should be enforced in a numerical setting. Terminating the PML with an inappropriate boundary condition or an unstable numerical boundary procedure can lead to exponential growth in the PML which will eventually destroy the accuracy of a numerical simulation everywhere. In this paper, we analyze the stability and the well-posedness of boundary conditions terminating the PML for the elastic wave equation in first order form. First, we consider a vertical modal PML truncating a two space dimensional computational domain in the horizontal direction. We freeze all coefficients and consider a left half-plane problem with linear boundary conditions terminating the PML. The normal mode analysis is used to study the stability and well-posedness of the resulting initial boundary value problem (IBVP). The result is that any linear well-posed boundary condition yielding an energy estimate for the elastic wave equation, without the PML, will also lead to a well-posed IBVP for the PML. Second, we extend the analysis to the PML corner region where both a horizontal and vertical PML are simultaneously active. The challenge lies in constructing accurate and stable numerical approximations for the PML and the boundary conditions. Third, we develop a high order accurate finite difference approximation of the PML subject to the boundary conditions. To enable accurate and stable numerical boundary treatments for the PML we construct continuous energy estimates in the Laplace space for a one space dimensional problem and two space dimensional PML corner problem. We use summation-by-parts finite difference operators to approximate the spatial derivatives and impose boundary conditions weakly using penalties. In order to ensure numerical stability of the discrete PML, it is necessary to extend the numerical boundary procedure to the auxiliary differential equations. This is crucial for deriving discrete energy estimates analogous to the continuous energy estimates. Numerical experiments are presented corroborating the theoretical results. Moreover, in order to ensure longtime numerical stability, the boundary condition closing the PML, or its corresponding discrete implementation, must be dissipative. Furthermore, the numerical experiments demonstrate the stable and robust treatment of PML corners