A \(C^r\) trivariate macro-element based on the Alfeld split of tetrahedra (Q741100)

After a review of the smoothness conditions for two trivariate polynomials that share a common triangular face and the minimal degree conditions for bivariate macro-elements on the Clough-Tocher split of a triangle and on non-split triangles, the authors derive minimal degree conditions for the macro-elements over the Alfeld split of a tetrahedron. The main results of this paper are the derivation of a local and stable minimal determining set for macro-elements on one tetrahedron and a collection of tetrahedra as well as the corresponding dimension formulae. Several examples round up the paper.