This book provides insight into the mathematics of Galerkin finite element method as applied to parabolic equations. The revised second edition has been influenced by recent progress in application of semigroup theory to stability and error analysis, particulatly in maximum-norm. Two new chapters have also been added, dealing with problems in polygonal, particularly noncovex, spatial domains, and with time discretization based on using Laplace transformation and quadrature.

This volume introduces a unified, self-contained study of linear discrete parabolic problems through reducing the starting discrete problem to the Cauchy problem for an evolution equation in discrete time. Accessible to beginning graduate students, the book contains a general stability theory of discrete evolution equations in Banach space and gives applications of this theory to the analysis of various classes of modern discretization methods, among others, Runge-Kutta and linear multistep methods as well as operator splitting methods. Key features: * Presents a unified approach to examining discretization methods for parabolic equations. * Highlights a stability theory of discrete evolution equations (discrete semigroups) in Banach space. * Deals with both autonomous and non-autonomous equations as well as with equations with memory. * Offers a series of numerous well-posedness and convergence results for various discretization methods as applied to abstract parabolic equations; among others, Runge-Kutta and linear multistep methods as well as certain operator splitting methods. * Provides comments of results and historical remarks after each chapter. · Presents a unified approach to examining discretization methods for parabolic equations. · Highlights a stability theory of discrete evolution equations (discrete semigroups) in Banach space. · Deals with both autonomous and non-autonomous equations as well as with equations with memory. · Offers a series of numerous well-posedness and convergence results for various discretization methods as applied to abstract parabolic equations; among others, Runge-Kutta and linear multistep methods as well as certain operator splitting methods as well as certain operator splitting methods are studied in detail. ·Provides comments of results and historical remarks after each chapter.

This Chapter aims to investigate the error estimation of numerical approximation to a class of semilinear parabolic problems. More specifically, the time discretization uses the backward Euler Galerkin method and the space discretization uses the finite element method for which the meshes are allowed to change in time. The key idea in our analysis is to adapt the elliptic reconstruction technique, introduced by Makridakis and Nochetto 2003, enabling us to use the a posteriori error estimators derived for elliptic models and to obtain optimal order in L,àûH1 for Lipschitz and non-Lipschitz nonlinearities. In this Chapter, some challenges will be addressed to deal with nonlinear term by employing a continuation argument.

In the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations, the Liapunov method plays a fundamental role. To use their analogs for the analysis of stability of solutions to parabolic, hyperparabolic, and other nonclassical equations and systems, time-invariant a priori estimates have to be devised for solutions. In this publication only parabolic problems are considered. Here lie, mainly, the problems which have been investigated most thoroughly --- the construction of Liapunov functionals which naturally generalize Liapunov functions for nonlinear parabolic equations of the second order with one spatial variable. The authors establish stabilizing solutions theorems, and the necessary and sufficient conditions of general and asymptotic stability of stationary solutions, including the so-called critical case. Attraction domains for stable solutions of mixed problems for these equations are described. Furthermore, estimates for the number of stationary solutions are obtained.