Quantitative analysis for $L^2$-estimates in linear elliptic equations via divergence-free transformation

Abstract

This paper establishes an explicit $L^2$-estimate for weak solutions $u$ to linear elliptic equations in divergence form with general coefficients and external source term $f$, stating that the $L^2$-norm of $u$ over $U$ is bounded by a constant multiple of the $L^2$-norm of $f$ over $U$. In contrast to classical approaches based on compactness arguments, the proposed method, which employs a divergence-free transformation method, provides a computable and explicit constant $C>0$. The $L^2$-estimate remains robust even when there is no zero-order term, and the analysis further demonstrates that the constant $C>0$ decreases as the diffusion coefficient or the zero-order term increases. These quantitative results provide a rigorous foundation for applications such as a posteriori error estimates in Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs), where explicit error bounds are essential.