We lay out a program for constructing discontinuous Petrov-Galerkin (DPG) schemes having test function spaces that are automatically computable to guarantee stability. Given a trial space, a DPG discretization using its optimal test space counterpart inherits stability from the well posedness of the undiscretized problem. Although the question of stable test space choice had attracted the attention of many previous authors, the novelty in our approach lies in the fact we identify a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) framework wherein test functions, arbitrarily close to the optimal ones, can be locally computed. The idea is presented abstractly and its feasibility illustrated through several theoretical and numerical examples.

a b s t r a c tConsidering a simple model transport problem, we present a new finite element method. While the new method fits in the class of discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods, it differs from standard DG and streamline diffusion methods, in that it uses a space of discontinuous trial functions tailored for stability. The new method, unlike the older approaches, yields optimal estimates for the primal variable in both the element size h and polynomial degree p, and outperforms the standard upwind DG method.

Discontinuous Petrov Galerkin (DPG) methods are made easily implementable using "broken" test spaces, i.e., spaces of functions with no continuity constraints across mesh element interfaces. Broken spaces derivable from a standard exact sequence of first order (unbroken) Sobolev spaces are of particular interest. A characterization of interface spaces that connect the broken spaces to their unbroken counterparts is provided. Stability of certain formulations using the broken spaces can be derived from the stability of analogues that use unbroken spaces. This technique is used to provide a complete error analysis of DPG methods for Maxwell equations with perfect electric boundary conditions. The technique also permits considerable simplifications of previous analyses of DPG methods for other equations. Reliability and efficiency estimates for an error indicator also follow. Finally, the equivalence of stability for various formulations of the same Maxwell problem is proved, including the strong form, the ultraweak form, and various forms in between.

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We continue our theoretical and numerical study on the Discontinuous Petrov-Galerkin method with optimal test functions in context of 1D and 2D convection-dominated diffusion problems and hp-adaptivity. With a proper choice of the norm for the test space, we prove robustness (uniform stability with respect to the diffusion parameter) and mesh-independence of the energy norm of the FE error for the 1D problem. With hp-adaptivity and a proper scaling of the norms for the test functions, we establish new limits for solving convection-dominated diffusion problems numerically: = 10 −11 for 1D and = 10 −7 for 2D problems. The adaptive process is fully automatic and starts with a mesh consisting of few elements only.

We give an error analysis of the recently developed DPG method applied to solve the Poisson equation and a convection-diffusion problem. We prove that the method is quasioptimal. Error estimates in terms of both the mesh size h and the polynomial degree p (for various element shapes) can be derived from our results. Results of extensive numerical experiments are also presented.

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