Second order pressure estimates for the Crank-Nicolson discretization of the incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations

Abstract

We provide optimal order pressure error estimates for the Crank-Nicolson semidiscretization of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Second order estimates for the velocity error are long known, we prove that the pressure error is of the same order if considered at interval midpoints, confirming previous numerical evidence. For simplicity we first give a proof under high regularity assumptions that include nonlocal compatibility conditions for the initial data, then use smoothing techniques for a proof under reduced assumptions based on standard local conditions only.