Discontinuous Galerkin method based on non-polynomial approximation spaces

In this paper, we develop discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods based on non-polynomial approximation spaces for numerically solving time dependent hyperbolic and parabolic and steady state hyperbolic and elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs). The algorithm is based on approximation spaces consisting of non-polynomial elementary functions such as exponential functions, trigonometric functions, etc., with the objective of obtaining better approximations for specific types of PDEs and initial and boundary conditions. It is shown that L2 stability and error estimates can be obtained when the approximation space is suitably selected. It is also shown with numerical examples that a careful selection of the approximation space to fit individual PDE and initial and boundary conditions often provides more accurate results than the DG methods based on the polynomial approximation spaces of the same order of accuracy.