The effect of the consistent mass matrix on the maximum-principle for scalar conservation equations (Q2356616)

For a nonlinear conservation equation in one space dimension the authors consider a Cauchy problem, i.e., the equation is defined on the entire real axis, as well as a periodic boundary value problem on a bounded interval. In both cases, they spatially discretize the problem using linear continuous elements on uniform meshes and march in time with explicit (forward) Euler. As their main result, they show that, for such a scheme it is impossible to satisfy the maximum principle using the consistent mass matrix and artificial viscosity for stabilization in space. This result holds regardless of the flux involved.