One-way domain decomposition method with exact radiation condition and fast GMRES solver for the solution of Maxwell's equations

Abstract

For the solution of the time-harmonic electromagnetic scattering problem by inhomogeneous 3-D objects, a one-way domain decomposition method (DDM) is considered: the computational domain is partitioned into concentric subdomains on the interfaces of which Robin-type transmission conditions (TCs) are prescribed; an integral representation of the electromagnetic fields on the outer boundary constitutes an exact radiation condition. The global system obtained after discretization of the finite element (FE) formulations is solved via a Krylov subspace iterative method (GMRES). It is preconditioned in such a way that, essentially, only the solution of the FE subsystems in each subdomain is required. This is made possible by a computationally cheap H(curl)–H(div) transformation performed on the interfaces that separate the two outermost subdomains. The eigenvalues of the preconditioned matrix of the system are bounded by two, and optimized values of the coefficients involved in the local TCs on the interfaces are determined so as to maximize the minimum eigenvalue. Numerical experiments are presented that illustrate the numerical accuracy of this technique, its fast convergence, and legitimate the choices made for the optimized coefficients.