The origins of wavelets go back to the beginning of the last century and wavelet methods are by now a well-known tool in image processing (jpeg2000). These functions have, however, been used successfully in other areas, such as elliptic partial differential equations, which can be used to model many processes in science and engineering. This book, based on the author's course and accessible to those with basic knowledge of analysis and numerical mathematics, gives an introduction to wavelet methods in general and then describes their application for the numerical solution of elliptic partial differential equations. Recently developed adaptive methods are also covered and each scheme is complemented with numerical results, exercises, and corresponding software tools.

Wavelet methods are by now a well-known tool in image processing (jpeg2000). These functions have been used successfully in other areas, however. Elliptic Partial Differential Equations which model several processes in, for example, science and engineering, is one such field. This book, based on the author's course, gives an introduction to wavelet methods in general and then describes their application for the numerical solution of elliptic partial differential equations. Recently developed adaptive methods are also covered and each scheme is complemented with numerical results , exercises, and corresponding software.

This thesis is concerned with the numerical solution of boundary value problems (BVPs) governed by nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs). To iteratively solve such BVPs, it is of primal importance to develop efficient schemes that guarantee convergence of the numerically approximated PDE solutions towards the exact solution. The new adaptive wavelet theory guarantees convergence of adaptive schemes with fixed approximation rates. Furthermore, optimal, i.e., linear, complexity estimates of such adaptive solution methods have been established. These achievements are possible since wavelets allow for a completely new perspective to attack BVPs: namely, to represent PDEs in their original infinite dimensional realm. Wavelets in this context represent function bases with special analytical properties, e.g., the wavelets considered herein are piecewise polynomials, have compact support and norm equivalences between certain function spaces and the $ell_2$ sequence spaces of expansion coefficients exist. This theoretical framework is implemented in the course of this thesis in a truly dimensionally unrestricted adaptive wavelet program code, which allows one to harness the proven theoretical results for the first time when numerically solving the above mentioned BVPs. Numerical studies of 2D and 3D PDEs and BVPs demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the developed schemes. The BVPs are solved using an adaptive Uzawa algorithm, which requires repeated solution of nonlinear PDE sub-problems. This thesis presents for the first time a numerically competitive implementation of a new theoretical paradigm to solve nonlinear elliptic PDEs in arbitrary space dimensions with a complete convergence and complexity theory.

This latest volume in the Wavelets Analysis and Its Applications Series provides significant and up-to-date insights into recent developments in the field of wavelet constructions in connection with partial differential equations. Specialists in numerical applications and engineers in a variety of fields will find Multiscale Wavelet for Partial Differential Equations to be a valuable resource. - Covers important areas of computational mechanics such as elasticity and computational fluid dynamics - Includes a clear study of turbulence modeling - Contains recent research on multiresolution analyses with operator-adapted wavelet discretizations - Presents well-documented numerical experiments connected with the development of algorithms, useful in specific applications

Since their introduction in the 1980's, wavelets have become a powerful tool in mathematical analysis, with applications such as image compression, statistical estimation and numerical simulation of partial differential equations. One of their main attractive features is the ability to accurately represent fairly general functions with a small number of adaptively chosen wavelet coefficients, as well as to characterize the smoothness of such functions from the numerical behaviour of these coefficients. The theoretical pillar that underlies such properties involves approximation theory and function spaces, and plays a pivotal role in the analysis of wavelet-based numerical methods. This book offers a self-contained treatment of wavelets, which includes this theoretical pillar and it applications to the numerical treatment of partial differential equations. Its key features are:1. Self-contained introduction to wavelet bases and related numerical algorithms, from the simplest examples to the most numerically useful general constructions.2. Full treatment of the theoretical foundations that are crucial for the analysisof wavelets and other related multiscale methods : function spaces, linear and nonlinear approximation, interpolation theory.3. Applications of these concepts to the numerical treatment of partial differential equations : multilevel preconditioning, sparse approximations of differential and integral operators, adaptive discretization strategies.