Error estimates of a stabilized Lagrange-Galerkin scheme for the Navier-Stokes equations

Error estimates with optimal convergence orders are proved for a stabilized Lagrange-Galerkin scheme for the Navier-Stokes equations. The scheme is a combination of Lagrange-Galerkin method and Brezzi-Pitkaranta's stabilization method. It maintains the advantages of both methods; (i) It is robust for convection-dominated problems and the system of linear equations to be solved is symmetric. (ii) Since the P1 finite element is employed for both velocity and pressure, the number of degrees of freedom is much smaller than that of other typical elements for the equations, e.g., P2/P1. Therefore, the scheme is efficient especially for three-dimensional problems. The theoretical convergence orders are recognized numerically by two- and three-dimensional computations

Statistical properties of superflares on solar-type stars based on 1-min cadence data

We searched for superflares on solar-type stars using Kepler data with 1 min sampling in order to detect superflares with short duration. We found 187 superflares on 23 solar-type stars whose bolometric energy ranges from the order of $10^{32}$ erg to $10^{36}$ erg. Some superflares show multiple peaks with the peak separation of the order of $100$-$1000$ seconds which is comparable to the periods of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares. Using these new data combined with the results from the data with 30 min sampling, we found the occurrence frequency ($dN/dE$) of superflares as a function of flare energy ($E$) shows the power-law distribution ($dN/dE \propto E^{-\alpha}$) with $\alpha \sim -1.5$ for $10^{33}<E<10^{36}$ erg which is consistent with the previous results. The average occurrence rate of superflares with the energy of $10^{33}$ erg which is equivalent to X100 solar flares is about once in 500-600 years. The upper limit of energy released by superflares is basically comparable to a fraction of the magnetic energy stored near starspots which is estimated from the photometry. We also found that the duration of superflares ($\tau$) increases with the flare energy ($E$) as $\tau \propto E^{0.39\pm 0.03}$. This can be explained if we assume the time-scale of flares is determined by the Alfv$\acute{\rm e}$n time.Comment: Accepted for for publication in Earth, Planets and Spac