On 2D newest vertex bisection: optimality of mesh-closure and \(H ^{1}\)-stability of \(L _{2}\)-projection (Q378149)

Newest vertex bisection (NVB) is a popular local mesh-refinement strategy for regular triangulations that consist of simplices. In this paper, for the \(2D\) case, the authors prove that the mesh-closure step of NVB (which preserves regularity of the triangulation) is quasi-optimal, and that the corresponding \(L_2\)-projection onto lowest-order Courant finite elements (P1-FEM) is always \(H^1\)-stable. Throughout, no additional assumptions on the initial triangulation are imposed. The analysis presented improves some previous results in the sense that all assumptions of their theorems are removed (see [\textit{P. Binev} et al., Numer. Math. 97, No. 2, 219--268 (2004; Zbl 1063.65120)], [\textit{C. Carstensen}, Constructive Approximation 20, No. 4, 549--564 (2004; Zbl 1064.65143)], and [\textit{R. Stevenson}, Math. Comput. 77, No. 261, 227--241 (2008; Zbl 1131.65095)]). Therefore, the results in this paper relax the requirements under which adaptive finite element schemes can be mathematically guaranteed to convergence with quasi-optimal rates.