Families of meshes minimizing P1 interpolation error

Abstract

For a given function, we consider a problem of minimizing the P1 interpolation error on a set of triangulations with a fixed number of triangles. The minimization problem is reformulated as a problem of generating a mesh which is quasi-uniform in a specially designed metric. For functions with indefinite Hessian, we show existence of a family of metrics with highly diverse properties. The family may include both anisotropic and isotropic metrics. A developed theory is verified with numerical examples.