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Main Author: Olver, Sheehan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23732
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author Olver, Sheehan
author_facet Olver, Sheehan
contents This paper constructs polynomial bases that capture the structure of the de Rham complex with boundary conditions in disks and cylinders (both periodic and finite) in a way that respects rotational symmetry. The starting point is explicit constructions of vector and matrix orthogonal polynomials on the unit disk that are analogous to the (scalar) generalised Zernike polynomials. We use these to build new orthogonal polynomials with respect to a matrix weight that forces vector polynomials to be normal on the boundary of the disk. The resulting weighted vector orthogonal polynomials have a simple connection to the gradient of weighted generalised Zernike polynomials, and their curl (i.e. vorticity or rot) is a constant multiple of the standard Zernike polynomials which are orthogonal with respect to $L^2$ on the disk. This construction naturally leads to bases in cylinders with simple recurrences relating their gradient, curl and divergence. These bases decouple the de Rham complex into small exact sub-complexes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23732
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Orthogonal polynomials for the de Rham complex on the disk and cylinder
Olver, Sheehan
Numerical Analysis
33C50, 58A12
This paper constructs polynomial bases that capture the structure of the de Rham complex with boundary conditions in disks and cylinders (both periodic and finite) in a way that respects rotational symmetry. The starting point is explicit constructions of vector and matrix orthogonal polynomials on the unit disk that are analogous to the (scalar) generalised Zernike polynomials. We use these to build new orthogonal polynomials with respect to a matrix weight that forces vector polynomials to be normal on the boundary of the disk. The resulting weighted vector orthogonal polynomials have a simple connection to the gradient of weighted generalised Zernike polynomials, and their curl (i.e. vorticity or rot) is a constant multiple of the standard Zernike polynomials which are orthogonal with respect to $L^2$ on the disk. This construction naturally leads to bases in cylinders with simple recurrences relating their gradient, curl and divergence. These bases decouple the de Rham complex into small exact sub-complexes.
title Orthogonal polynomials for the de Rham complex on the disk and cylinder
topic Numerical Analysis
33C50, 58A12
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23732