Quadratures for boundary integral equations of the first kind with logarithmic kernels (Q2564893)

The authors study a Nyström method for integral equations of the first kind with a logarithmic kernel on smooth closed or open contours in the plane. It is known that the corresponding problem can be reformulated as an equivalent integral equation of the second kind with special kernels defined by Cauchy singular integrals for both closed curves and open arcs. Here the authors develop a fully discrete quadrature method for the equivalent second kind equations by employing the trapezoidal integration rules. Using the theory of collectively compact operators, they investigate the order of convergence of the method and illustrate the results numerically by considering for Laplace equation the interior Dirichlet problem in an elliptical domain and the exterior Dirichlet problem outside a segment. The numerical examples confirm the theoretical estimates of convergence.