Towards modular Hierarchical Poincar\'{e}-Steklov solvers

Abstract

We revisit the Hierarchical Poincar\'{e}-Steklov (HPS) method for the Poisson equation using standard Q1 finite elements, building on the original in work on HPS of Martinsson from 2013. While corner degrees of freedom were implicitly handled in that work, subsequent spectral-element implementations have typically avoided them. In Q1-FEM, however, corner coupling cannot be factored out, and we show how the HPS merge procedure naturally accommodates it when corners are enclosed by elements. This clarification bridges a conceptual gap between algebraic Schur-complement methods and operator-based formulations, providing a consistent path for the FEM community to adopt HPS to retain the Poincar\'{e}-Steklov interpretation at both continuous and discrete levels.