Algebraic Topology on Polyhedral Surfaces from Finite Elements

Abstract

We report on a development using piecewise constant vector fields (or one-forms) on compact polyhedral surfaces. The function spaces corresponding to a discrete Hodge decomposition then turn out to be a mixture of conforming and nonconforming linear finite elements. For sequences of polyhedral surfaces whose positions and normals converge to the positions and normals of an embedded compact smooth surface, we report on a convergence result for the corresponding discrete Hodge decompositions and Hodge star operators.