Finite element analysis for a diffusion equation on a harmonically evolving domain

Abstract: We study convergence of the evolving finite element semi-discretization of a parabolic partial differential equation on an evolving bulk domain. The boundary of the domain evolves with a given velocity, which is then extended to the bulk by solving a Poisson equation. The numerical solution to the parabolic equation depends on the numerical evolution of the bulk, which yields the time-dependent mesh for the finite element method. The stability analysis works with the matrix-vector formulation of the semi-discretization only and does not require geometric arguments, which are then required in the proof of consistency estimates. We present various numerical experiments that illustrate the proven convergence rates.