Guaranteed a posteriori error estimator for mixed finite element methods of elliptic problems (Q388587)

The author analyzes an a posteriori error estimator for a general class of mixed finite element methods of elliptic problems which guarantees an upper bound on the vector error, thus extending the recent result obtained for the lowest order triangular Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method by \textit{M. Ainsworth} [SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 30, No. 1, 189--204 (2007; Zbl 1159.65353)]. The error estimator is constructed through a variant of Stenberg's postprocessing procedure, and the guaranteed upper bound is readily established by making use of the argument similar to the hyper-circle method. The proof of the lower bound given in the above reference does not seem to apply to other kinds of mixed elements. So the author uses a different technique based on the discrete Friedrichs inequality to establish the lower bound of the error estimator.