A convergence theorem for the fast multipole method for 2 dimensional scattering problems

Abstract

The Fast Multipole Method (FMM) designed by V. Rokhlin rapidly computes the field scattered from an obstacle. This computation consists of solving an integral equation on the boundary of the obstacle. The main result of this paper shows the convergence of the FMM for the two dimensional Helmholtz equation. Before giving the theorem, we give an overview of the main ideas of the FMM. This is done following the papers of V. Rokhlin. Nevertheless, the way we present the FMM is slightly different. The FMM is finally applied to an acoustic problem with an impedance boundary condition. The moment method is used to discretize this continuous problem.