A two‐level domain decomposition method with accurate interface conditions for the Helmholtz problem

A new and efficient two‐level, non‐overlapping domain decomposition (DD) method is developed for the Helmholtz equation in the two Lagrange multiplier framework. The transmission conditions are designed by utilizing perfectly matched discrete layers (PMDLs), which are a more accurate representation of the exterior Dirichlet‐to‐Neumann map than the polynomial approximations used in the optimized Schwarz method. Another important ingredient affecting the convergence of a DD method, namely, the coarse space augmentation, is also revisited. Specifically, the widely successful approach based on plane waves is modified to that based on interface waves, defined directly on the subdomain boundaries, hence ensuring linear independence and facilitating the estimation of the optimal size for the coarse problem. The effectiveness of both PMDL‐based transmission conditions and interface‐wave‐based coarse space augmentation is illustrated with an array of numerical experiments that include comprehensive scalability studies with respect to frequency, mesh size and the number of subdomains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.