Adaptive refinement for arbitrary finite-element spaces with hierarchical bases (Q809564)

A refinement algorithm is presented and interpreted as the selective enrichment of a finite-element space through the hierarchical basis. Each elemental division corresponds exactly to the inclusion of a small number of new basis functions, while existing basis functions remain unchanged. The adaptivity of the method is based on adding those basis functions first, which make the largest contribution to the function. Spaces of continuous piecewise polynomials on a two-dimensional domain are used for illustration, but the techniques could be applied in a more general context. Dirichlet problems for scalar elliptic equations of second order with singular behaviour of the solutions are solved by the usual Galerkin scheme. The asymptotic behaviour of the error indicates the efficiency of the method.