Abstract. We analyze the simplest and most standard adaptive finite element method (AFEM), with any polynomial degree, for general second order linear, symmetric elliptic operators. As is customary in practice, the AFEM marks exclusively according to the error estimator and performs a minimal element refinement without the interior node property. We prove that the AFEM is a contraction, for the sum of the energy error and the scaled error estimator, between two consecutive adaptive loops. This geometric decay is instrumental to derive the optimal cardinality of the AFEM. We show that the AFEM yields a decay rate of the energy error plus oscillation in terms of the number of degrees of freedom as dictated by the best approximation for this combined nonlinear quantity.

Data oscillation is intrinsic information missed by the averaging process associated with nite element methods (FEM) regardless of quadrature. Ensuring a reduction rate of data oscillation, together with an error reduction based on a posteriori error estimators, we construct a simple and e cient adaptive FEM for elliptic PDE with linear rate of convergence without any preliminary mesh adaptation nor explicit knowledge of constants. Any prescribed error tolerance is thus achieved in a nite number of steps. A number of numerical experiments in 2d and 3d yield quasi-optimal meshes along with a competitive performance.

The purpose of this work is the study of solution techniques for problems involving fractional powers of symmetric coercive elliptic operators in a bounded domain with Dirichlet boundary conditions. These operators can be realized as the Dirichlet to Neumann map for a degenerate/singular elliptic problem posed on a semi-infinite cylinder, which we analyze in the framework of weighted Sobolev spaces. Motivated by the rapid decay of the solution of this problem, we propose a truncation that is suitable for numerical approximation. We discretize this truncation using first degree tensor product finite elements. We derive a priori error estimates in weighted Sobolev spaces. The estimates exhibit optimal regularity but suboptimal order for quasi-uniform meshes. For anisotropic meshes, instead, they are quasi-optimal in both order and regularity. We present numerical experiments to illustrate the method's performance.

Adaptive finite element methods (FEMs) have been widely used in applications for over 20 years now. In practice, they converge starting from coarse grids, although no mathematical theory has been able to prove this assertion. Ensuring an error reduction rate based on a posteriori error estimators, together with a reduction rate of data oscillation (information missed by the underlying averaging process), we construct a simple and efficient adaptive FEM for elliptic partial differential equations. We prove that this algorithm converges with linear rate without any preliminary mesh adaptation nor explicit knowledge of constants. Any prescribed error tolerance is thus achieved in a finite number of steps. A number of numerical experiments in two and three dimensions yield quasi-optimal meshes along with a competitive performance. Extensions to higher order elements and applications to saddle point problems are discussed as well.

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