Bregman divergences and error control via convex duality

Abstract: Convex duality relations are a useful tool for deriving error estimates for challenging nonlinear and non-smooth variational problems. Applied at the continuous level they can deliver nonlinear analogues of the Prager-Synge a posteriori error identity, while at the discrete level they allow the derivation of minimal regularity a priori estimates. By leveraging elementary properties of Bregman divergences, we obtain three results on the error control via convex duality for a general class of problems: first, we prove a local efficiency bound for the duality gap error estimator, secondly, we derive a guaranteed a posteriori bound for non-conforming fields, and finally, we prove a minimal-regularity quasioptimal estimate for a Crouzeix-Raviart discretisation of the $\varphi$-Laplace problem.