Critical Functions and Inf-Sup Stability of Crouzeix-Raviart Elements

Abstract: In this paper, we prove that Crouzeix-Raviart finite elements of polynomial order $p\geq5$, $p$ odd, are inf-sup stable for the Stokes problem on triangulations. For $p\geq4$, $p$ even, the stability was proved by \'{A}. Baran and G. Stoyan in 2007 by using the \textit{macroelement technique,} a \textit{dimension formula}, the concept of \textit{critical points} in a triangulation and a representation of the corresponding \textit{critical functions}. Baran and Stoyan proved that these critical functions belong to the range of the divergence operator applied to Crouzeix-Raviart velocity functions and the macroelement technique implies the inf-sup stability. The generalization of this theory to cover odd polynomial orders $p\geq5$ is involved; one reason is that the macroelement classes, which have been used for even $p$, are unsuitable for odd $p$. In this paper, we introduce a new and simple representation of non-conforming Crouzeix-Raviart basis functions of odd degree. We employ only one type of macroelement and derive representations of all possible critical functions. Finally, we show that they are in the range of the divergence operator applied to Crouzeix-Raviart velocities from which the stability of the discretization follows.