Noether type discrete conserved quantities arising from a finite element approximation of a variational problem

Abstract: In this work we prove a weak Noether type theorem for a class of variational problems which include broken extremals. We then use this result to prove discrete Noether type conservation laws for certain classes of finite element discretisation of a model elliptic problem. In addition we study how well the finite element scheme satisfies the continuous conservation laws arising from the application of Noether's 1st Theorem (E. Noether 1918). We summarise extensive numerical tests, illustrating the conservativity of the discrete Noether law using the $p$--Laplacian as an example.