Steklov approximations of Green’s functions for Laplace equations

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to present a meshless technique to find the Green’s functions for solutions of Laplacian boundary value problems on rectangular domains. This paper also investigates a theoretical basis for the Steklov series expansion methods to reduce and estimate the error of numerical approaches for the boundary correction kernel of the Laplace operator. Design/methodology/approach The main interest is how the Green's functions differ from the fundamental solution of the Laplace operator. Steklov expansion methods for finding the correction term are supported by the analysis that bases of the class of all finite harmonic functions can be formed using harmonic Steklov eigenfunctions. These functions construct a basis of the space of solutions of harmonic boundary value problems and their boundary traces generate an orthogonal basis of the trace space of solutions on the boundary. Findings The main conclusion is that the boundary correction term for the Green's functions is well-approximated by Steklov expansions with a few Steklov eigenfunctions. The error estimates for the Steklov approximations of the boundary correction term involved in Dirichlet or Robin boundary value problems are found. They appear to provide very good approximations in the interior of the region and become quite oscillatory close to the boundary. Originality/value This paper concentrates to document the first attempt to find the Green's function for various harmonic boundary value problems with the explicit Steklov eigenfunctions without concerns regarding discretizations when the region is a rectangle.