Construction of a finite element basis of the first de Rham cohomology group and numerical solution of 3D magnetostatic problems (Q2855112)

Static magnetic fields are not uniquely determined by the data, the number of homogeneous solutions -- so-called harmonic Neumann fields -- depending on the topological genus (number of ``handles''; first Betti number) of the underlying domain. Specific harmonic Neumann fields can be located by suitably prescribing the values for certain integrals along closed curves through the ``handles'' (a first homology basis). This paper presents an approach to construct an approximate basis for the space of harmonic Neumann fields using finite elements. The method is illustrated by numerical experiments.