Adaptive Vertex-Centered Finite Volume Methods with Convergence Rates

Abstract

We consider the vertex-centered finite volume method with first-order conforming ansatz functions. The adaptive mesh-refinement is driven by the local contributions of the weighted-residual error estimator. We prove that the adaptive algorithm leads to linear convergence with generically optimal algebraic rates for the error estimator and the sum of energy error plus data oscillations. While similar results have been derived for finite element methods and boundary element methods, the present work appears to be the first for adaptive finite volume methods, where the lack of the classical Galerkin orthogonality leads to new challenges.