Boundary element discretization of Poincaré-Steklov operators (Q1347066)

This paper deals with the construction of discretizations of Poincaré- Steklov operators for elliptic boundary value problems by means of the boundary element method. It is known that Poincaré-Steklov operators are natural mathematical tools for the investigation (examination) of boundary value problems and their numerical solutions with domain decomposition methods based on the finite element solution of the subproblems. In the paper a direct Galerkin boundary element solution is proposed. The author proves that discretizations obtained via a direct Galerkin boundary element method possess the same mapping properties as the finite element discretization if the boundary elements satisfy some natural conditions. It is an important conclusion because the elaborated approach provides a base for the analysis of different domain decomposition methods using the boundary element solutions of subproblems, of the coupling of finite element and boundary element methods and related problems.