Abstract. We propose a new numerical approach for two-dimensional Maxwell's equations that is based on the Hodge decomposition for divergencefree vector fields. In this approach an approximate solution for Maxwell's equations can be obtained by solving standard second order scalar elliptic boundary value problems. This new approach is illustrated by a P 1 finite element method.

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Penalized splines are popular for nonparametric regression. We establish the minimax rate optimality of penalized splines for uniform convergence, thus improving the existing rate in the literature. The result is applicable to several types of penalized splines that are commonly used and holds under mild conditions on the design points.