Lax–Friedrichs sweeping scheme for static Hamilton–Jacobi equations

Abstract

We propose a simple, fast sweeping method based on the Lax–Friedrichs monotone numerical Hamiltonian to approximate viscosity solutions of arbitrary static Hamilton–Jacobi equations in any number of spatial dimensions. By using the Lax–Friedrichs numerical Hamiltonian, we can easily obtain the solution at a specific grid point in terms of its neighbors, so that a Gauss–Seidel type nonlinear iterative method can be utilized. Furthermore, by incorporating a group-wise causality principle into the Gauss–Seidel iteration by following a finite group of characteristics, we have an easy-to-implement, sweeping-type, and fast convergent numerical method. However, unlike other methods based on the Godunov numerical Hamiltonian, some computational boundary conditions are needed in the implementation. We give a simple recipe which enforces a version of discrete min–max principle. Some convergence analysis is done for the one-dimensional eikonal equation. Extensive 2-D and 3-D numerical examples illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the new approach. To our knowledge, this is the first fast numerical method based on discretizing the Hamilton–Jacobi equation directly without assuming convexity and/or homogeneity of the Hamiltonian.