This monograph focuses on the mathematical and numerical analysis of
simplicial partitions and the finite element method. This active area of
research has become an essential part of physics and engineering, for
example in the study of problems involving heat conduction, linear
elasticity, semiconductors, Maxwell's equations, Einstein's equations
and magnetic and gravitational fields.
These problems require the simulation of various phenomena and physical
fields over complicated structures in three (and higher) dimensions.
Since not all structures can be decomposed into simpler objects like
d-dimensional rectangular blocks, simplicial partitions are important.
In this book an emphasis is placed on angle conditions guaranteeing the
convergence of the finite element method for elliptic PDEs with given
boundary conditions.
It is aimed at a general mathematical audience who is assumed to be
familiar with only a few basic results from linear algebra, geometry,
and mathematical and numerical analysis.