On the limit Sobolev regularity for Dirichlet and Neumann problems on Lipschitz domains

We construct a bounded $C^{1}$ domain $\Omega$ in $R^{n}$ for which the $H^{3/2}$ regularity for the Dirichlet and Neumann problems for the Laplacian cannot be improved, that is, there exists $f$ in $C^{\infty}(\overline\Omega)$ such that the solution of $\Delta u=f$ in $\Omega$ and either $u=0$ on $\partial\Omega$ or $\partial\_{n} u=0$ on $\partial\Omega$ is contained in $H^{3/2}(\Omega)$ but not in $H^{3/2+\varepsilon}(\Omega)$ for any $\epsilon>0$. An analogous result holds for $L^{p}$ Sobolev spaces with $p\in(1,\infty)$

Shape derivatives of boundary integral operators in electromagnetic scattering. Part I: Shape differentiability of pseudo-homogeneous boundary integral operators

In this paper we study the shape differentiability properties of a class of boundary integral operators and of potentials with weakly singular pseudo-homogeneous kernels acting between classical Sobolev spaces, with respect to smooth deformations of the boundary. We prove that the boundary integral operators are infinitely differentiable without loss of regularity. The potential operators are infinitely shape differentiable away from the boundary, whereas their derivatives lose regularity near the boundary. We study the shape differentiability of surface differential operators. The shape differentiability properties of the usual strongly singular or hypersingular boundary integral operators of interest in acoustic, elastodynamic or electromagnetic potential theory can then be established by expressing them in terms of integral operators with weakly singular kernels and of surface differential operators

Shape derivatives of boundary integral operators in electromagnetic scattering. Part II : Application to scattering by a homogeneous dielectric obstacle

We develop the shape derivative analysis of solutions to the problem of scattering of time-harmonic electromagnetic waves by a bounded penetrable obstacle. Since boundary integral equations are a classical tool to solve electromagnetic scattering problems, we study the shape differentiability properties of the standard electromagnetic boundary integral operators. The latter are typically bounded on the space of tangential vector fields of mixed regularity TH\sp{-1/2}(\Div_{\Gamma},\Gamma). Using Helmholtz decomposition, we can base their analysis on the study of pseudo-differential integral operators in standard Sobolev spaces, but we then have to study the G\^ateaux differentiability of surface differential operators. We prove that the electromagnetic boundary integral operators are infinitely differentiable without loss of regularity. We also give a characterization of the first shape derivative of the solution of the dielectric scattering problem as a solution of a new electromagnetic scattering problem.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1002.154

Shape derivatives of boundary integral operators in electromagnetic scattering

We develop the shape derivative analysis of solutions to the problem of scattering of time-harmonic electromagnetic waves by a bounded penetrable obstacle. Since boundary integral equations are a classical tool to solve electromagnetic scattering problems, we study the shape differentiability properties of the standard electromagnetic boundary integral operators. Using Helmholtz decomposition, we can base their analysis on the study of scalar integral operators in standard Sobolev spaces, but we then have to study the G\^ateaux differentiability of surface differential operators. We prove that the electromagnetic boundary integral operators are infinitely differentiable without loss of regularity and that the solutions of the scattering problem are infinitely shape differentiable away from the boundary of the obstacle, whereas their derivatives lose regularity on the boundary. We also give a characterization of the first shape derivative as a solution of a new electromagnetic scattering problem

On the Kleinman-Martin integral equation method for electromagnetic scattering by a dielectric body

The interface problem describing the scattering of time-harmonic electromagnetic waves by a dielectric body is often formulated as a pair of coupled boundary integral equations for the electric and magnetic current densities on the interface $\Gamma$. In this paper, following an idea developed by Kleinman and Martin \cite{KlMa} for acoustic scattering problems, we consider methods for solving the dielectric scattering problem using a single integral equation over $\Gamma$ for a single unknown density. One knows that such boundary integral formulations of the Maxwell equations are not uniquely solvable when the exterior wave number is an eigenvalue of an associated interior Maxwell boundary value problem. We obtain four different families of integral equations for which we can show that by choosing some parameters in an appropriate way, they become uniquely solvable for all real frequencies. We analyze the well-posedness of the integral equations in the space of finite energy on smooth and non-smooth boundaries

Inequalities of Babuška-Aziz and Friedrichs-Velte for differential forms

International audienceFor sufficiently smooth bounded plane domains, the equivalence between the inequalities of Babuška –Aziz for right inverses of the divergence and of Friedrichs on conjugate harmonic functions was shown by Horgan and Payne in 1983 [7]. In a previous paper [4] we proved that this equivalence, and the equality between the associated constants, is true without any regularity condition on the domain. In three dimensions, Velte [9] studied a generalization of the notion of conjugate harmonic functions and corresponding generalizations of Friedrich's inequality, and he showed for sufficiently smooth simply-connected domains the equivalence with inf-sup conditions for the divergence and for the curl. For this equivalence, Zsuppán [10] observed that our proof can be adapted, proving the equality between the corresponding constants without regularity assumptions on the domain. Here we formulate a generalization of the Friedrichs inequality for conjugate harmonic differential forms on bounded open sets in any dimension that contains the situations studied by Horgan–Payne and Velte as special cases. We also formulate the corresponding inf-sup conditions or Babuška –Aziz inequalities and prove their equivalence with the Friedrichs inequalities, including equality between the corresponding constants. No a-priori conditions on the regularity of the open set nor on its topology are assumed

Volume integral equations for electromagnetic scattering in two dimensions

We study the strongly singular volume integral equation that describes the scattering of time-harmonic electromagnetic waves by a penetrable obstacle. We consider the case of a cylindrical obstacle and fields invariant along the axis of the cylinder, which allows the reduction to two-dimensional problems. With this simplification, we can refine the analysis of the essential spectrum of the volume integral operator started in a previous paper (M. Costabel, E. Darrigrand, H. Sakly: The essential spectrum of the volume integral operator in electromagnetic scattering by a homogeneous body, Comptes Rendus Mathematique, 350 (2012), pp. 193-197) and obtain results for non-smooth domains that were previously available only for smooth domains. It turns out that in the TE case, the magnetic contrast has no influence on the Fredholm properties of the problem. As a byproduct of the choice that exists between a vectorial and a scalar volume integral equation, we discover new results about the symmetry of the spectrum of the double layer boundary integral operator on Lipschitz domains.Comment: 21 page

Some historical remarks on the positivity of boundary integral operators

27 pagesVariational arguments go back a long time in the history of boundary integral equations. Energy methods have shown up very early, then virtually disappeared from the common knowledge and eventually resurfaced in the context of boundary element methods. We focus on some not so well known parts of classical works by well known classical authors and describe the relation of their ideas to modern variational principles in boundary element methods

Analytic Regularity for Linear Elliptic Systems in Polygons and Polyhedra

We prove weighted anisotropic analytic estimates for solutions of second order elliptic boundary value problems in polyhedra. The weighted analytic classes which we use are the same as those introduced by Guo in 1993 in view of establishing exponential convergence for hp finite element methods in polyhedra. We first give a simple proof of the known weighted analytic regularity in a polygon, relying on a new formulation of elliptic a priori estimates in smooth domains with analytic control of derivatives. The technique is based on dyadic partitions near the corners. This technique can successfully be extended to polyhedra, providing isotropic analytic regularity. This is not optimal, because it does not take advantage of the full regularity along the edges. We combine it with a nested open set technique to obtain the desired three-dimensional anisotropic analytic regularity result. Our proofs are global and do not require the analysis of singular functions.Comment: 54 page