On the linear convergence of additive Schwarz methods for the $p$-Laplacian

TL;DR

This paper develops a new convergence theory for additive Schwarz methods applied to the $p$-Laplacian, demonstrating their asymptotic linear convergence through a quasi-norm analysis that aligns better with empirical observations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quasi-norm based convergence analysis and a quasi-norm Poincaré--Friedrichs inequality, bridging the gap between theory and empirical results for these methods.

Findings

Establishes asymptotic linear convergence of additive Schwarz methods for the $p$-Laplacian.

Introduces a quasi-norm framework akin to Bregman distance for analysis.

Provides a quasi-norm Poincaré--Friedrichs inequality for domain decomposition.

Abstract

We consider additive Schwarz methods for boundary value problems involving the $p$-Laplacian. While existing theoretical estimates suggest a sublinear convergence rate for these methods, empirical evidence from numerical experiments demonstrates a linear convergence rate. In this paper, we narrow the gap between these theoretical and empirical results by presenting a novel convergence analysis. Firstly, we present a new convergence theory for additive Schwarz methods written in terms of a quasi-norm. This quasi-norm exhibits behavior akin to the Bregman distance of the convex energy functional associated with the problem. Secondly, we provide a quasi-norm version of the Poincar'{e}--Friedrichs inequality, which plays a crucial role in deriving a quasi-norm stable decomposition for a two-level domain decomposition setting. By utilizing these key elements, we establish the asymptotic linear convergence of additive Schwarz methods for the $p$-Laplacian.