arXiv subjects

Carlos Pérez-Arancibia

Publications and source records attributed to Carlos Pérez-Arancibia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fast high-order solvers for the Lippmann--Schwinger equation in piecewise-smooth heterogeneous media

This article presents a fast, high-order Nyström solver for the two-dimensional Lippmann--Schwinger equation arising from time-harmonic scattering by penetrable, piecewise-smooth heterogeneous media. Relying on high-order evaluation of the Newtonian potential on unstructured grids adapted to interfaces of discontinuity, the methodology achieves high-order accuracy using existing fast algorithms such as the fast multipole method. As an iterative method the solver exhibits rapid convergence when coupled to a preconditioning strategy that exploits a class of structured-grid solvers---fast solution methods offering quasi-linear time and memory complexity and nearly-constant iteration counts, but long limited in accuracy. The preconditioning strategy couples the Nyström discretization---given by high-order quadrature nodes over a (curved) unstructured mesh conforming to the support of the spatially varying contrast---to a uniform Cartesian grid underlying the fast preconditioner via a pair of transfer operators. The resulting preconditioner inherits the frequency-robust behavior of its Cartesian counterpart without sacrificing the geometric flexibility and high-order accuracy of the unstructured discretization. We prove that invertibility of the proposed preconditioner holds under explicit conditions on the mesh sizes and on the Cartesian preconditioner. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the preconditioned system requires significantly fewer GMRES iterations than its unpreconditioned counterpart, with iteration counts almost independent of mesh size and wavenumber, and illustrate the method's robustness for inhomogeneities with piecewise-smooth refractive indices and jump discontinuities across interfaces.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

A general-purpose global regularization method for 3D volume integral operators

Singular volume integral operators associated with constant-coefficient partial differential operators extend the applicability of potential theory to inhomogeneous problems, for example arising from nonlinearities or variable coefficients. Typically the PDE kernels in these operators give rise to singularities at all $\mathcal{O}(1/h^3)$ volume discretization/evaluation points in a mesh of characteristic size $h$, while the slowly-decaying nature of such kernels give rise to long-range interactions that require coupling to fast summation algorithms. The presented method uses Green's identities to regularize a wide variety of both scalar-valued and vector-valued volume integral operators by use of a certain regularizing volume density interpolant. The analysis shows how the regularizing effect of the interpolant is global in the sense that the interpolation quality increases in an exactly compensatory fashion as the distance to the Green's function singularity decreases. High-order convergence estimates with tabulated simplex quadratures are established, including with exact representation of curved domains.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

A Uniformly High-Accuracy PML-BIE Method for Scattering by Periodic Arrays of Obstacles: The 2D Case

This paper presents a novel frequency-robust perfectly matched layer (PML) boundary integral equation (BIE) method for solving two-dimensional electromagnetic scattering problems involving periodic arrays of obstacles. In periodic scattering problems, standard BIE formulations based on the quasi-periodic Green's function require the evaluation of lattice sums or challenging Sommerfeld-type integrals, which diverge at Rayleigh--Wood (RW) anomalies. An alternative is to use BIE formulations based on the Helmholtz free-space Green's function, but these are defined on unbounded unit-cell boundaries and therefore require suitable truncation strategies, such as the Windowed Green Function (WGF) method. Although such approaches avoid the use of expensive quasi-periodic Green's functions, they also suffer from breakdowns at RW anomalies unless an appropriate mode correction is incorporated. Similarly, the direct application of PML-BIE techniques to periodic structures experiences comparable difficulties near RW anomalies due to the destruction of exponential convergence near RW anomalies for fixed PML parameters. To overcome this challenge, we propose a modified PML-BIE method that combines the PML technique with a finite-mode correction, ensuring both high accuracy and robustness at and around RW-anomalies. Convergence of the PML-truncated boundary integral operators is proved and several numerical examples are presented to validate the efficiency and performance of the proposed method.

math.NA↗

arXiv2026

Maxwell à la Helmholtz: Direct boundary integral equations for 3D scattering by perfect electric conductors via Helmholtz operators

This paper is the direct-formulation companion to [Burbano-Gallegos, Pérez-Arancibia, and Turc, ESAIM: M2AN, 60(1):273--315, 2026], which developed indirect combined-field-only boundary integral equations (BIEs) for time-harmonic electromagnetic scattering by smooth perfectly electrically conducting (PEC) obstacles, relying entirely on Helmholtz boundary integral operators. Here we exploit the same equivalence between the Maxwell PEC scattering problem and a pair of vector Helmholtz boundary value problems -- one for the electric field and one for the magnetic field -- to derive direct BIE formulations whose unknowns are the Dirichlet and Neumann traces of the total fields, decomposed into their normal and tangential surface components. These unknowns carry direct physical meaning: in particular, the magnetic-field formulation yields the surface electric currents as part of its solution. The mixed regularity of the two field-trace components requires introducing a tailored product Hölder space, a distinctive feature absent from the indirect approach. We prove that the resulting Direct Electric and Magnetic Combined-Field-Only Integral Equations (D-ECFOIE and D-MCFOIE) are uniquely solvable at all frequencies, and introduce Calderón-type regularizations (RD-ECFOIE and RD-MCFOIE) that render them of the Fredholm second kind. We further examine the low-frequency breakdown affecting the electric-field formulation and introduce a modified equation that enforces the physical charge-conservation constraints, which restores numerical accuracy and well-conditioned linear systems for frequencies arbitrarily close to zero. Numerical experiments, performed using a high-order Nyström solver based on the Density Interpolation Method and implemented in the Julia package Inti.jl, validate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed formulations across a range of geometries and frequencies.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Maxwell à la Helmholtz: Electromagnetic scattering by 3D perfect electric conductors via Helmholtz integral operators

This paper introduces a novel class of indirect boundary integral equation (BIE) formulations for the solution of electromagnetic scattering problems involving smooth perfectly electric conductors (PECs) in three-dimensions. These combined-field-type BIE formulations rely exclusively on classical Helmholtz boundary operators, resulting in provably well-posed, frequency-robust, Fredholm second-kind BIEs. Notably, we prove that the proposed formulations are free from spurious resonances, while retaining the versatility of Helmholtz integral operators. The approach is based on the equivalence between the Maxwell PEC scattering problem and two independent vector Helmholtz boundary value problems for the electric and magnetic fields, with boundary conditions defined in terms of the Dirichlet and Neumann traces of the corresponding vector Helmholtz solutions. While certain aspects of this equivalence (for the electric field) have been previously exploited in the so-called field-only BIE formulations, we here rigorously establish and generalize the equivalence between Maxwell and Helmholtz problems for both fields. Finally, a variety of numerical examples highlights the robustness and accuracy of the proposed approach when combined with Density Interpolation-based Nyström methods and fast linear algebra solvers, implemented in the open-source Julia package Inti$.$jl.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Reflectionless discrete perfectly matched layers for higher-order finite difference schemes

This paper introduces discrete-holomorphic Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) specifically designed for high-order finite difference (FD) discretizations of the scalar wave equation. In contrast to standard PDE-based PMLs, the proposed method achieves the remarkable outcome of completely eliminating numerical reflections at the PML interface, in practice achieving errors at the level of machine precision. Our approach builds upon the ideas put forth in a recent publication [Journal of Computational Physics 381 (2019): 91-109] expanding the scope from the standard second-order FD method to arbitrary high-order schemes. This generalization uses additional localized PML variables to accommodate the larger stencils employed. We establish that the numerical solutions generated by our proposed schemes exhibit an exponential decay rate as they propagate within the PML domain. To showcase the effectiveness of our method, we present a variety of numerical examples, including waveguide problems. These examples highlight the importance of employing high-order schemes to effectively address and minimize undesired numerical dispersion errors, emphasizing the practical advantages and applicability of our approach.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Fast, high-order numerical evaluation of volume potentials via polynomial density interpolation

This article presents a high-order accurate numerical method for the evaluation of singular volume integral operators, with attention focused on operators associated with the Poisson and Helmholtz equations in two dimensions. Following the ideas of the density interpolation method for boundary integral operators, the proposed methodology leverages Green's third identity and a local polynomial interpolant of the density function to recast the volume potential as a sum of single- and double-layer potentials and a volume integral with a regularized (bounded or smoother) integrand. The layer potentials can be accurately and efficiently evaluated everywhere in the plane by means of existing methods (e.g. the density interpolation method), while the regularized volume integral can be accurately evaluated by applying elementary quadrature rules. Compared to straightforwardly computing corrections for every singular and nearly-singular volume target, the method significantly reduces the amount of required specialized quadrature by pushing all singular and near-singular corrections to near-singular layer-potential evaluations at target points in a small neighborhood of the domain boundary. Error estimates for the regularization and quadrature approximations are provided. The method is compatible with well-established fast algorithms, being both efficient not only in the online phase but also to set-up. Numerical examples demonstrate the high-order accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methodology; applications to inhomogeneous scattering are presented.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

Construction of polynomial particular solutions of linear constant-coefficient partial differential equations

This paper introduces general methodologies for constructing closed-form solutions to linear constant-coefficient partial differential equations (PDEs) with polynomial right-hand sides in two and three spatial dimensions. Polynomial solutions have recently regained significance in the development of numerical techniques for evaluating volume integral operators and also have potential applications in certain kinds of Trefftz finite element methods. The equations covered in this work include the isotropic and anisotropic Poisson, Helmholtz, Stokes, linearized Navier-Stokes, stationary advection-diffusion, elastostatic equations, as well as the time-harmonic elastodynamic and Maxwell equations. Several solutions to complex PDE systems are obtained by a potential representation and rely on the Helmholtz or Poisson solvers. Some of the cases addressed, namely Stokes flow, Maxwell's equations and linearized Navier-Stokes equations, naturally incorporate divergence constraints on the solution. This article provides a generic pattern whereby solutions are constructed by leveraging solutions of the lowest-order part of the partial differential operator (PDO). With the exception of anisotropic material tensors, no matrix inversion or linear system solution is required to compute the solutions. This work is accompanied by a freely-available Julia library, \texttt{ElementaryPDESolutions.jl}, which implements the proposed methodology in an efficient and user-friendly format.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

A complex-scaled boundary integral equation for time-harmonic water waves

This paper presents a novel boundary integral equation (BIE) formulation for the two-dimensional time-harmonic water-waves problem. It utilizes a complex-scaled Laplace's free-space Green's function, resulting in a BIE posed on the infinite boundaries of the domain. The perfectly matched layer (PML) coordinate stretching that is used to render propagating waves exponentially decaying, allows for the effective truncation and discretization of the BIE unbounded domain. We show through a variety of numerical examples that, despite the logarithmic growth of the complex-scaled Laplace's free-space Green's function, the truncation errors are exponentially small with respect to the truncation length. Our formulation uses only simple function evaluations (e.g. complex logarithms and square roots), hence avoiding the need to compute the involved water-wave Green's function. Finally, we show that the proposed approach can also be used to find complex resonances through a \emph{linear} eigenvalue problem since the Green's function is frequency-independent.

math.NA↗

arXiv2022

Windowed Green Function MoM for Second-Kind Surface Integral Equation Formulations of Layered Media Electromagnetic Scattering Problems

This paper presents a second-kind surface integral equation method for the numerical solution of frequency-domain electromagnetic scattering problems by locally perturbed layered media in three spatial dimensions. Unlike standard approaches, the proposed methodology does not involve the use of layer Green functions. It instead leverages an indirect Müller formulation in terms of free-space Green functions that entails integration over the entire unbounded penetrable boundary. The integral equation domain is effectively reduced to a small-area surface by means of the windowed Green function method, which exhibits high-order convergence as the size of the truncated surface increases. The resulting (second-kind) windowed integral equation is then numerically solved by means of the standard Galerkin method of moments (MoM) using RWG basis functions. The methodology is validated by comparison with Mie-series and Sommerfeld-integral exact solutions as well as against a layer Green function-based MoM. Challenging examples including realistic structures relevant to the design of plasmonic solar cells and all-dielectric metasurfaces, demonstrate the applicability, efficiency, and accuracy of the proposed methodology.

math.NA↗

arXiv2022

Windowed Green function method for wave scattering by periodic arrays of 2D obstacles

This paper introduces a novel boundary integral equation (BIE) method for the numerical solution of problems of planewave scattering by periodic line arrays of two-dimensional penetrable obstacles. Our approach is built upon a direct BIE formulation that leverages the simplicity of the free-space Green function but in turn entails evaluation of integrals over the unit-cell boundaries. Such integrals are here treated via the window Green function method. The windowing approximation together with a finite-rank operator correction -- used to properly impose the Rayleigh radiation condition -- yield a robust second-kind BIE that produces super-algebraically convergent solutions throughout the spectrum, including at the challenging Rayleigh-Wood anomalies. The corrected windowed BIE can be discretized by means of off-the-shelf Nyström and boundary element methods, and it leads to linear systems suitable for iterative linear-algebra solvers as well as standard fast matrix-vector product algorithms. A variety of numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed methodology

math.NA↗

arXiv2021

On the regularization of Cauchy-type integral operators via the density interpolation method and applications

This paper presents a regularization technique for the high order efficient numerical evaluation of nearly singular, principal-value, and finite-part Cauchy-type integral operators. By relying on the Cauchy formula, the Cauchy-Goursat theorem, and on-curve Taylor interpolations of the input density, the proposed methodology allows to recast the Cauchy and associated integral operators as smooth contour integrals. As such, they can be accurately evaluated everywhere in the complex plane -- including at problematic points near and on the contour -- by means of elementary quadrature rules. Applications of the technique to the evaluation of the Laplace layer potentials and related integral operators, as well as to the computation conformal mappings, are examined in detail. The former application, in particular, amounts to a significant improvement over the recently introduced harmonic density interpolation method. Spectrally accurate discretization approaches for smooth and piecewise smooth contours are presented. A variety of numerical examples, including the solution of weakly singular and hypersingular Laplace boundary integral equations, and the evaluation of challenging conformal mappings, demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the density interpolation method in this context.

math.NA↗

arXiv2020

General-purpose kernel regularization of boundary integral equations via density interpolation

This paper presents a general high-order kernel regularization technique applicable to all four integral operators of Calderón calculus associated with linear elliptic PDEs in two and three spatial dimensions. Like previous density interpolation methods, the proposed technique relies on interpolating the density function around the kernel singularity in terms of solutions of the underlying homogeneous PDE, so as to recast singular and nearly singular integrals in terms of bounded (or more regular) integrands. We present here a simple interpolation strategy which, unlike previous approaches, does not entail explicit computation of high-order derivatives of the density function along the surface. Furthermore, the proposed approach is kernel- and dimension-independent in the sense that the sought density interpolant is constructed as a linear combination of point-source fields, given by the same Green's function used in the integral equation formulation, thus making the procedure applicable, in principle, to any PDE with known Green's function. For the sake of definiteness, we focus here on Nyström methods for the (scalar) Laplace and Helmholtz equations and the (vector) elastostatic and time-harmonic elastodynamic equations. The method's accuracy, flexibility, efficiency, and compatibility with fast solvers are demonstrated by means of a variety of large-scale three-dimensional numerical examples.

math.NA↗

arXiv2019

Planewave density interpolation methods for the EFIE on simple and composite surfaces

This paper presents an extension of the recently introduced planewave density interpolation (PWDI) method to the electric field integral equation (EFIE) formulation of problems of scattering and radiation by perfect electric conducting (PEC) objects. Relying on Kirchhoff integral formula and local interpolation of surface current densities that regularize the kernel singularities, the PWDI method enables off- and on-surface EFIE operators to be re-expressed in terms of integrands that are globally bounded (or even more regular) over the whole domain of integration, regardless of the magnitude of the distance between target and source points. Surface integrals resulting from the application of the method-of-moments (MoM) using Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions, can then be directly and easily evaluated by means of elementary quadrature rules irrespective of the singularity location. The proposed technique can be applied to simple and composite surfaces comprising two or more simply-connected overlapping components. The use of composite surfaces can significantly simplify the geometric treatment of complex structures, as the PWDI method enables the use of separate non-conformal meshes for the discretization of each of the surface components that make up the composite surface. A variety of examples, including multi-scale and intricate structures, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2019

Planewave density interpolation methods for 3D Helmholtz boundary integral equations

This paper introduces planewave density interpolation methods for the regularization of weakly singular, strongly singular, hypersingular and nearly singular integral kernels present in 3D Helmholtz surface layer potentials and associated integral operators. Relying on Green's third identity and pointwise interpolation of density functions in the form of planewaves, these methods allow layer potentials and integral operators to be expressed in terms of integrand functions that remain smooth (at least bounded) regardless the location of the target point relative to the surface sources. Common challenging integrals that arise in both Nyström and boundary element discretization of boundary integral equation, can then be numerically evaluated by standard quadrature rules that are irrespective of the kernel singularity. Closed-form and purely numerical planewave density interpolation procedures are presented in this paper, which are used in conjunction with Chebyshev-based Nyström and Galerkin boundary element methods. A variety of numerical examples---including problems of acoustic scattering involving multiple touching and even intersecting obstacles, demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed technique.

math.NA↗

arXiv2018

Inverse design of large-area metasurfaces

We present a computational framework for efficient optimization-based "inverse design" of large-area "metasurfaces" (subwavelength-patterned surfaces) for applications such as multi-wavelength and multi-angle optimizations, and demultiplexers. To optimize surfaces that can be thousands of wavelengths in diameter, with thousands (or millions) of parameters, the key is a fast approximate solver for the scattered field. We employ a "locally periodic" approximation in which the scattering problem is approximated by a composition of periodic scattering problems from each unit cell of the surface, and validate it against brute-force Maxwell solutions. This is an extension of ideas in previous metasurface designs, but with greatly increased flexibility, e.g. to automatically balance tradeoffs between multiple frequencies, or to optimize a photonic device given only partial information about the desired field. Our approach even extends beyond the metasurface regime to non-subwavelength structures where additional diffracted orders must be included (but the period is not large enough to apply scalar diffraction theory).

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Sideways adiabaticity: Beyond ray optics for slowly varying metasurfaces

Optical metasurfaces (subwavelength-patterned surfaces typically described by variable effective surface impedances) are typically modeled by an approximation akin to ray optics: the reflection or transmission of an incident wave at each point of the surface is computed as if the surface were "locally uniform", and then the total field is obtained by summing all of these local scattered fields via a Huygens principle. (Similar approximations are found in scalar diffraction theory and in ray optics for curved surfaces.) In this paper, we develop a precise theory of such approximations for variable-impedance surfaces. Not only do we obtain a type of adiabatic theorem showing that the "zeroth-order" locally uniform approximation converges in the limit as the surface varies more and more slowly, including a way to quantify the rate of convergence, but we also obtain an infinite series of higher-order corrections. These corrections, which can be computed to any desired order by performing integral operations on the surface fields, allow rapidly varying surfaces to be modeled with arbitrary accuracy, and also allow one to validate designs based on the zeroth-order approximation (which is often surprisingly accurate) without resorting to expensive brute-force Maxwell solvers. We show that our formulation works arbitrarily close to the surface, and can even compute coupling to guided modes, whereas in the far-field limit our zeroth-order result simplifies to an expression similar to what has been used by other authors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Harmonic density interpolation methods for high-order evaluation of Laplace layer potentials in 2D and 3D

We present an effective harmonic density interpolation method for the numerical evaluation of singular and nearly singular Laplace boundary integral operators and layer potentials in two and three spatial dimensions. The method relies on the use of Green's third identity and local Taylor-like interpolations of density functions in terms of harmonic polynomials. The proposed technique effectively regularizes the singularities present in boundary integral operators and layer potentials, and recasts the latter in terms of integrands that are bounded or even more regular, depending on the order of the density interpolation. The resulting boundary integrals can then be easily, accurately, and inexpensively evaluated by means of standard quadrature rules. A variety of numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique when used in conjunction with the classical trapezoidal rule (to integrate over smooth curves) in two-dimensions, and with a Chebyshev-type quadrature rule (to integrate over surfaces given as unions of non-overlapping quadrilateral patches) in three-dimensions.

math.NA↗