Efficient discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods via Bernstein polynomials

Abstract: We consider the discontinuous Galerkin method for hyperbolic conservation laws, with some particular attention to the linear acoustic equation, using Bernstein polynomials as local bases. Adapting existing techniques leads to optimal-complexity computation of the element and boundary flux terms. The element mass matrix, however, requires special care. In particular, we give an explicit formula for its eigenvalues and exact characterization of the eigenspaces in terms of the Bernstein representation of orthogonal polynomials. We also show a fast algorithm for solving linear systems involving the element mass matrix to preserve the overall complexity of the DG method. Finally, we present numerical results investigating the accuracy of the mass inversion algorithms and the scaling of total run-time for the function evaluation needed in DG time-stepping.