Error analysis of scalar auxiliary variable finite element methods for the Landau--Lifshitz--Bloch equation

TL;DR

This paper introduces and rigorously analyzes two energy-stable, fully discrete finite element schemes based on the scalar auxiliary variable approach for solving the Landau--Lifshitz--Bloch equation at high temperatures, achieving optimal error estimates.

Contribution

It presents the first rigorous error analysis of a fully discrete SAV-based method for the LLB equation, with two linear, energy-stable schemes that are second-order accurate in time.

Findings

Both schemes are unconditionally energy stable.

Optimal-order error estimates are established in multiple norms.

The methods are the first to achieve second-order temporal accuracy for this problem.

Abstract

The Landau--Lifshitz--Bloch (LLB) equation is a well-established micromagnetic model for describing magnetisation dynamics in ferromagnets at elevated temperatures. In this paper, we propose and analyse two fully discrete, conforming finite element schemes based on the scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) approach for solving the LLB equation in the high-temperature regime above the Curie point. The first scheme employs a semi-implicit Euler time discretisation, while the second is based on a linearly extrapolated BDF2 method. Both schemes are linear, unconditionally stable with respect to the energy norm, and satisfy a discrete energy law involving the SAV-based energy functional that approximates the true micromagnetic energy. Under suitable regularity assumptions, we establish unconditional energy stability and derive optimal-order error estimates in $\mathbb{L}^2, \mathbb{H}^1$, and $\mathbb{L}^\infty$ norms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first rigorous error analysis of a fully discrete SAV-based method for a quasilinear vector-valued problem, as well as the first linear, energy-stable scheme for the LLB equation in the high-temperature regime that achieves second-order temporal accuracy.