240 Difference Schernes for Elliptic Equations
if v(x) is an arbitrary function having no less than four derivatives with
respect to xa, Cl'= 1, 2, that are bounded at least in the rectangle {xa-ha <
x~ < x a + ha; Cl' = 1, 2} for ha < ha. So, the Laplace operator (2) is
approximated to second order by the difference operator (5) on a regular
"cross" pattern. A difference approximation of the p-dimensional (p > 2)
Laplace operator
(9)
p
Lu= L Lau,
a=l
82 u
Lau=~,
uxa
can be arranged in just the same way. This can be done by replacing La
by the three-point difference operator Aa and accepting the decomposition
(10)
so that
(11)
p
Av= L Aa v,
a=l
Aa V = Vx-0: ,{,a-~ ,
where v(±l"') = v(x(±l"J). Here x(+l.,) (or x(-l"')) is a point into which
the point x = (x 1 , ... , xp) moves after the shift by one interval ha along
the direction xa to the right (or to the left) (see Fig. 7).
x
Figure 7.
Evidently, the pattern for operator (10) consists of 2p + 1 points: x,
x(±la), Cl'= 1, ... ,p (7 points in the case p = 3) and the approximation
here is of order 2.
- Approximation of the Laplace operator on an irregular "cross" pattern.
We now consider a difference approximation of the Laplace operator on
an inegular "cross" pattern. In the two-dimensional case (p = 2) such a
pattern consists of the five points