Simple curl-curl-conforming finite elements in two dimensions

Abstract

We construct smooth finite element de Rham complexes in two space dimensions. This leads to three families of curl-curl conforming finite elements, two of which contain two existing families. The simplest triangular and rectangular finite elements have only 6 and 8 degrees of freedom, respectively. Numerical experiments for each family demonstrate the convergence and efficiency of the elements for solving the quad-curl problem.