A stable and optimal complexity solution method for mixed finite element discretizations

Abstract

We outline a solution method for mixed finite element discretizations based on dissecting the problem into three separate steps. The first handles the inho- mogeneous constraint, the second solves the flux variable from the homogeneous problem, whereas the third step, adjoint to the first, finally gives the Lagrangian multiplier. We concentrate on aspects involved in the first and third step mainly, and advertise a multi-level method that allows for a stable computation of the intermediate and final quantities in optimal computational complexity.