An Unfitted dG Scheme for Coupled Bulk-Surface PDEs on Complex Geometries

Abstract

The unfitted discontinuous Galerkin (UDG) method allows for conservative dG discretizations of partial differential equations (PDEs) based on cut cell meshes. It is hence particularly suitable for solving continuity equations on complex-shaped bulk domains. In this paper based on and extending the PhD thesis of the second author, we show how the method can be transferred to PDEs on curved surfaces. Motivated by a class of biological model problems comprising continuity equations on a static bulk domain and its surface, we propose a new UDG scheme for bulk-surface models. The method combines ideas of extending surface PDEs to higher-dimensional bulk domains with concepts of trace finite element methods. A particular focus is given to the necessary steps to retain discrete analogues to conservation laws of the discretized PDEs. A high degree of geometric flexibility is achieved by using a level set representation of the geometry. We present theoretical results to prove stability of the method and to investigate its conservation properties. Convergence is shown in an energy norm and numerical results show optimal convergence order in bulk/surface H 1 {H^{1}} - and L 2 {L^{2}} -norms.