No label defined (Q4215023)

The importance of estimating the error of a finite element solution a posteriori is well known. Often error estimators are sought which can be used to guide the further subdivision of the finite element mesh. In this case, the error estimate must be cheap to compute. However, our purpose is different: we seek very reliable yet realistic pointwise bounds that can be used at a relatively small number of important points. We outline the mathematical analysis of an a posteriori error estimator for derivatives of the following Neumann problem \[ Lu\equiv -\Delta u= f\quad\text{in} \quad \Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n\quad\text{with}\quad G(u):= {\mathbf n}\cdot\nabla u= g\quad\text{on}\quad \Gamma= \partial\Omega, \] where \(\Omega\) is a bounded open set, and \({\mathbf n}\) denotes the unit vector normal to \(\Gamma\) in the outward direction. The boundary \(\Gamma\) is assumed to be piecewise smooth, without cusps. To overcome the difficulty of wide error bounds at points close to the boundary, an image point technique related to the local geometry is introduced. Numerical results are presented to verify the theoretical results. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0897.00034].