Split least-squares finite element methods for linear and nonlinear parabolic problems (Q2378270)

The authors propose some least-squares finite element procedures for linear and nonlinear parabolic equations based on first-order systems. By selecting the least-squares functional properly each proposed procedure can be split into independent symmetric positive definite sub-procedures, one of which is for the primary unknown variable and the other is for the expanded flux unknown variable. They obtain optimal order error estimates and give some numerical examples to illustrate the theoretical analysis.