A conforming discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the Stokes problem on polytopal meshes

Abstract: A new discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the Stokes equations is developed in the primary velocity-pressure formulation. This method employs discontinuous polynomials for both velocity and pressure on general polygonal/polyhedral meshes. Most finite element methods with discontinuous approximation have one or more stabilizing terms for velocity and for pressure to guarantee stability and convergence. This new finite element method has the standard conforming finite element formulation, without any velocity or pressure stabilizers. Optimal-order error estimates are established for the corresponding numerical approximation in various norms. The numerical examples are tested for low and high order elements up to the degree four in 2D and 3D spaces.