Galerkin approximation for elliptic PDEs on spheres (Q1764874)

The Galerkin method is used, with the approximate solution being spanned by spherical functions (SBF), for the elliptic partial differential equation (PDE) \(-\Delta u + \omega^{2} u = f\) on \(S^{n}\subset\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\), where \(\omega\) is a non-zero real constant, \(\Delta\) is the Laplace-Beltrami operator on \(S^{n}\) and \(f \in C^{2k}(S^{n})\) for some \(k \geq 1\). The approximate solution is constructed from a linear combination of shifts of a radial basis function on a scattered set of points. The main result is a Sobolev type error estimate for \(u-u_h\), where \(u_h\) is the finite element approximation of \(u\), constructed using SBFs satisfying certain regularity conditions. Related results can be found in the paper of \textit{F. J. Narcowich, J.D. Ward} [SIAM J. Math. Anal. 33(6), 1393--1410 (2002; Zbl 1055.41007)] and of \textit{H. Wendland} [J. Approx. Theory 93, 258--272 (1998; Zbl 1020.65084)].