Title: Sobolev Gradients, Preconditioning and Applications

Speaker: John Neuberger, Department of Mathematics, University of North Texas

Date/Time: Friday, May 1, 2009, 11:00am – 12:00pm

Location: CSRI Building, Room 95 (Sandia NM)

Brief Abstract: To solve systems of differential equations numerically, the method of steepest descent does very poorly if conventional gradients are used. In the theory of Sobolev gradients, gradients are taken with respect to metrics which emulate metrics of Sobolev spaces which are so useful for theoretical considerations. This talk will give an organized account on how Sobolev metrics lead to viable numerical schemes which respect even non-standard boundary conditions. Applications to flow problems, Stefan problems, elasticity, Ginzburg-Landau functionals for superconductivity, and other problems are discussed.

CSRI POC: Heidi Thornquist, (505) 284-8426