Conforming and nonconforming Trefftz approximations for two-dimensional scalar electromagnetic problems

Abstract

Trefftz functions satisfy the differential equation locally and exactly; quasi-Trefftz functions do so approximately to prescribed high order. This paper considers (quasi-)Trefftz approximations for two-dimensional scalar electromagnetic problems. Established discretizations include the Flexible Local Approximation MEthod (FLAME), Trefftz elements ($T$-elements), and Trefftz discontinuous Galerkin (Trefftz-DG) methods. New developments are gradient-enriched FLAME (GEFLAME), conforming Trefftz--FLAME finite elements (TFF), and a full-field Bloch-wavevector-vs-frequency solution with Schur--DtN reduction. Applications cover electrostatics, scattering, singular fields, and Bloch waves in periodic structures. These methods make different compromises between conformity and flexibility. FLAME and GEFLAME incorporate Trefftz functions directly into local difference schemes; TFF uses elementwise FLAME schemes to lift polynomial traces into element interiors; $T$-elements match elementwise Trefftz spaces weakly to such traces; and Trefftz-DG couples broken Trefftz spaces through fluxes and penalties. In the reported wave-scattering examples, GEFLAME gives field and gradient errors several orders of magnitude below those of the quadratic finite-element discretization at comparable algebraic cost. Localized singular-function enrichment removes the dominant reentrant-corner error. Conforming TFF and quasi-conforming $T$-elements admit standard finite-element assembly but expose polynomial edge traces as an accuracy bottleneck. For periodic media, the bilinear Trefftz-DG formulation gives an analytic polynomial wavenumber-vs-frequency eigenproblem without restricting the Bloch multiplier to the unit circle. Schur--DtN reduction yields compact boundary-response problems.