A divergence-free hybrid finite volume / finite element scheme for the incompressible MHD equations based on compatible finite element spaces with a posteriori limiting

Abstract

We present a novel semi-implicit hybrid finite volume/finite element (FV/FE) method for the equations of viscous and resistive incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The scheme preserves the divergence-free property of the magnetic field exactly on the discrete level, is second order accurate in space, and is stable in the limit of vanishing viscosity and resistivity. In particular, the MHD system is first split into a fluid and a magnetic subsystem. The former is then addressed via a semi-implicit hybrid FV/FE method. The latter belongs to a class of generalized advection-diffusion problems, for which we propose a novel semi-implicit scheme based on compatible finite element spaces and interpolation-contraction operators. In the case of vanishing resistivity, the new algorithm avoids the solution of a linear system at each time step, thanks to the framework of physical degrees of freedom, which allow to express the exterior derivative as the incidence matrix of an appropriate refinement of the original mesh. Regarding the timestepping, a local fully-discrete Lax-Wendroff-type evolution is proposed as an alternative to the classical semi-discrete method of lines. In order to suppress spurious oscillations in the presence of discontinuities or steep gradients in the magnetic field, a new simple but efficient a posteriori limiting procedure based on a nonlinear artificial resistivity is introduced. The novel methodology is validated with several test cases in two and three space dimensions using unstructured simplex meshes.