A priori and a posteriori error analysis of the lowest-order NCVEM for second-order linear indefinite elliptic problems

The nonconforming virtual element method (NCVEM) for the approximation of the weak solution to a general linear second-order non-selfadjoint indefinite elliptic PDE in a polygonal domain Ω is analyzed under reduced elliptic regularity. The main tool in the a priori error analysis is the connection between the nonconforming virtual element space and the Sobolev space H01(Ω) by a right-inverse J of the interpolation operator Ih. The stability of the discrete solution allows for the proof of existence of a unique discrete solution, of a discrete inf-sup estimate and, consequently, for optimal error estimates in the H1 and L2 norms. The explicit residual-based a posteriori error estimate for the NCVEM is reliable and efficient up to the oscillation terms. Numerical experiments on different types of polygonal meshes illustrate the robustness of an error estimator and support the improved convergence rate of an adaptive mesh-refinement in comparison to the uniform mesh-refinement.