Solving the Stokes Equations via a Least Squares Weak Galerkin Method

Abstract

We present a least-squares weak Galerkin (LS-WG) finite element method for solving the Stokes equations on arbitrary polygonal and polyhedral meshes. By utilizing discrete weak derivatives on discontinuous polynomial spaces, the proposed framework naturally accommodates complex domain geometries and general partitions. Crucially, this least-squares formulation bypasses the traditional inf-sup (LBB) compatibility condition, transforming the standard indefinite saddle-point problem into an inherently symmetric and positive definite (SPD) discrete linear system. We establish the well-posedness of the numerical scheme and rigorously derive optimal-order error estimates in a custom discrete energy norm. Specifically, we prove convergence rates of $\mathcal{O}(h^k)$ for the discrete projection error and $\mathcal{O}(h^{k-1})$ for the global approximation error when employing polynomials of degree $k \ge 1$ for the velocity field and $k-1$ for the pressure. Extensive numerical experiments confirm these theoretical convergence rates, demonstrating the method's robustness, geometric flexibility, and overall efficiency.