A p-adaptive, implicit-explicit mixed finite element method for reaction-diffusion problems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel p-adaptive mixed finite element method combined with an IMEX scheme for reaction-diffusion problems, enhancing stability and efficiency in simulating complex biological and chemical phenomena.

Contribution

It develops a new p-adaptive mixed finite element formulation with an IMEX time-stepping scheme for reaction-diffusion equations, improving stability and computational efficiency.

Findings

Accurately captures traveling waves, discontinuities, and singularities.

Provides an efficient a posteriori error estimate for adaptive refinement.

Demonstrates robustness and flexibility in pattern formation and electrophysiology applications.

Abstract

A new class of implicit-explicit (IMEX) methods combined with a p-adaptive mixed finite element formulation is proposed to simulate the diffusion of reacting species. Hierarchical polynomial functions are used to construct an $H(\mathrm{Div})$-conforming base for the flux vectors, and a non-conforming $L^2$ base for the mass concentration of the species. The mixed formulation captures the distinct nonlinearities associated with the constitutive flux equations and the reaction terms. The IMEX method conveniently treats these two sources of nonlinearity implicitly and explicitly, respectively, within a single time-stepping framework. The combination of the p-adaptive mixed formulation and the IMEX method delivers a robust and efficient algorithm. The proposed methods eliminate the coupled effect of mesh size and time step on the algorithmic stability. A residual based a posteriori error estimate that provides an upper bound of the natural error norm is derived. The availability of such estimate which can be obtained with minimal computational effort and the hierarchical construction of the finite element spaces allow for the formulation of an efficient p-adaptive algorithm. A series of numerical examples demonstrate the performance of the approach. It is shown that the method with the p-adaptive strategy accurately solves problems involving travelling waves, and those with discontinuities and singularities. The flexibility of the formulation is also illustrated via selected applications in pattern formation and electrophysiology.