Quadratic immersed finite element spaces and their approximation capabilities (Q2491221)

The authors are concerned with the construction of the so-called immersed finite elements (IFE), i.e., finite elements on partitions independent of the interface which splits the domain of the problem. They consider one and two-dimensional second-order elliptic boundary value problems in divergence form on domains which are split by a horizontal interface. In order to determine uniquely quadratic IFE basis functions, an extra continuity requirement is added which is rather arbitrary. Using such basis IFE functions some numerical experiments are reported. They intend to quantify the interpolation and finite element solution errors corresponding to some particular problems.