Error analysis of the DtN-FEM for the scattering problem in acoustics via Fourier analysis

In this paper, we are concerned with the error analysis for the finite element solution of the two-dimensional exterior Neumann boundary value problem in acoustics. In particular, we establish explicit priori error estimates in H 1 and L 2 - norms including both the effect of the truncation of the DtN mapping and that of the numerical discretization. To apply the finite element method (FEM) to the exterior problem, the original boundary value problem is reduced to an equivalent nonlocal boundary value problem via a Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) mapping represented in terms of the Fourier expansion series. We discuss essential features of the corresponding variational equation and its modification due to the truncation of the DtN mapping in appropriate function spaces. Numerical tests are presented to validate our theoretical results.