Cubic superconvergent finite volume element method for one-dimensional elliptic and parabolic equations (Q847180)

For a one-dimensional elliptic problem with mixed Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions, the authors propose a finite volume approximation relying on optimal stress points for cubic interpolation and prove its superconvergence property. The error between the numerical solution and the piecewise cubic interpolation of the exact solution measured in the \(H^1\)-seminorm is shown to be of order \(h^{3}\) and \(h^4\), respectively, if the exact solution is in \(H^4\) and \(H^5\), respectively. The error between the numerical and the exact solution, measured in the \(H^1\)-seminorm, then is of order \(h^3\) if the exact solution is in \(H^4\). An estimate in the \(L^2\)-norm is also given. Analogous results are obtained for a one-dimensional parabolic problem. The theoretical results are illustrated numerically.