Analyticity, maximal regularity and maximum-norm stability of semi-discrete finite element solutions of parabolic equations in nonconvex polyhedra

Abstract: In general polygons and polyhedra, possibly nonconvex, the analyticity of the finite element heat semigroup in the $L^q$ norm, $1\leq q\leq\infty$, and the maximal $L^p$-regularity of semi-discrete finite element solutions of parabolic equations are proved. By using these results, the problem of maximum-norm stability of the finite element parabolic projection is reduced to the maximum-norm stability of the Ritz projection, which currently is known to hold for general polygonal domains and convex polyhedral domains.