We present a novel strategy for minimizing the numerical dispersion error in edge discretizations of the time-domain electric vector wave equation on square meshes based on the mimetic finite difference (MFD) method. We compare this strategy, called M-adaptation, to two other discretizations, also based on square meshes. One is the lowest order Nédélec edge element discretization. The other is a modified quadrature approach (GY-adaptation) proposed by Guddati and Yue for the acoustic wave equation in two dimensions. All three discrete methods use the same edge-based degrees of freedom, while the temporal discretization is performed using the standard explicit Leapfrog scheme. To obtain efficient and explicit time stepping methods, the three schemes are further mass lumped. We perform a dispersion and stability analysis for the presented schemes and compare all three methods in terms of their stability regions and phase error. Our results indicate that the method produced by GY-adaptation and the Nédélec method are both second order accurate for numerical dispersion, but differ in the order of their numerical anisotropy (fourth order, versus second order, respectively). The result of M-adaptation is a discretization that is fourth order accurate for numerical dispersion as well as numerical anisotropy. Numerical simulations are provided that illustrate the theoretical results.

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In this paper we consider the lowest edge-based mimetic finite difference (MFD) discretization in space for Maxwell's equations in cold plasma on rectangular meshes. The method uses a generalized form of mass lumping that, on one hand, eliminates a need for linear solves at every iteration while, on the other hand, retains a set of free parameters of the MFD discretization. We perform an optimization procedure, called m-adaptation, that identified a set of free parameters that lead to the smallest numerical dispersion. The choice of the time stepping proved to be critical for successful optimization. Using exponential time differencing we were able to reduce the numerical dispersion error from second to fourth order of accuracy in mesh size. It was not possible to achieve this order of magnitude reduction in numerical dispersion error using the standard leapfrog time stepping. Numerical simulations independently verify our theoretical findings.

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