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Title: Matrix-free preconditioning for high-order H(curl) discretizations

Journal Article · · Numerical Linear Algebra with Applications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/nla.2348· OSTI ID:1835018
ORCiD logo [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for Applied Scientific Computing

Abstract The greater arithmetic intensity of high‐order finite element discretizations makes them attractive for implementation on next‐generation hardware, but assembly of high‐order finite element operators as matrices is prohibitively expensive. As a result, the development of general algebraic solvers for such operators has been an open research challenge. Fast matrix‐free application of high‐order operators has received significant attention in the literature in the context of Poisson‐type problems, but preconditioners and solvers for inverting more general operators are not very well‐developed. In this paper, we consider the problem of preconditioning a definite Maxwell operator at high polynomial order without assembling a matrix. We show that given efficient preconditioners for high‐order H 1 finite element problems on the same mesh, efficient H (curl) preconditioners can be constructed in an auxiliary space framework. We demonstrate the resulting preconditioners in a practical setting with tensor‐product basis functions on an unstructured mesh of quadrilaterals. Our approach uses a sparsified H 1 solver constructed on a low‐order mesh of the nodal points of the underlying high‐order space, and we show that the resulting H (curl) preconditioner is effective at very high polynomial orders for two‐dimensional model problems with complicated geometry, varying piecewise constant coefficients, and curved elements. The resulting preconditioner scales with nearly optimal O ( p d  + 1 ) floating point operation count and optimal O ( p d ) memory transfer requirements, outperforming existing Maxwell preconditioners in the high‐order regime.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1835018
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1804606
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-789679; 987529
Journal Information:
Numerical Linear Algebra with Applications, Vol. 28, Issue 2; ISSN 1070-5325
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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