General Order Virtual Element Methods for Neumann Boundary Optimal Control Problems in Saddle Point Formulation

Abstract: In this work, we explore the application of the Virtual Element Methods for Neumann boundary Optimal Control Problems in saddle point formulation. The method is proposed for arbitrarily polynomial order of accuracy and general polygonal meshes. Our contribution includes a rigorous a priori error estimate that holds for general polynomial degree. On the numerical side, we present (i) an initial convergence test that reflects our theoretical findings, and (ii) a second test case based on a more application-oriented experiment. For the latter test, we focus on the role of VEM stabilization, conducting a detailed experimental analysis, and proposing an alternative structure-preserving strategy to circumvent issues related to the choice of the stabilization parameter.