65N30 Finite elements, Rayleigh-Ritz and Galerkin methods, finite methods
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Adaptive Multigrid Methods for the Vectorial Maxwell Eigenvalue Problem for Optical Waveguide Design
(2000)
This paper has been motivated by the need for a fast robust adaptive multigrid method to solve the vectorial Maxwell eigenvalue problem arising from the design of optical chips. Our nonlinear multigrid methods are based on a previous method for the scalar Helmholtz equation, which must be modified to cope with the null space of the Maxwell operator due to the divergence condition. We present two different approaches. First, we present a multigrid algorithm based on an edge element discretization of time-harmonic Maxwell's equations, including the divergence condition. Second, an explicit elimination of longitudinal magnetic components leads to a nodal discretization known to avoid discrete \emph{spurious modes} also and a vectorial eigenvalue problem, for which we present a multigrid solver. Numerical examples show that the edge element discretization clearly outperforms the nodal element approach.
Our focus is on Maxwell's equations in the low frequency range; two specific applications we aim at are time-stepping schemes for eddy current computations and the stationary double-curl equation for time-harmonic fields. We assume that the computational domain is discretized by triangles or tetrahedrons; for the finite element approximation we choose N\'{e}d\'{e}lec's $H(curl)$-conforming edge elements of the lowest order. For the solution of the arising linear equation systems we devise an algebraic multigrid preconditioner based on a spatial component splitting of the field. Mesh coarsening takes place in an auxiliary subspace, which is constructed with the aid of a nodal vector basis. Within this subspace coarse grids are created by exploiting the matrix graphs. Additionally, we have to cope with the kernel of the $curl$-operator, which comprises a considerable part of the spectral modes on the grid. Fortunately, the kernel modes are accessible via a discrete Helmholtz decomposition of the fields; they are smoothed by additional algebraic multigrid cycles. Numerical experiments are included in order to assess the efficacy of the proposed algorithms.