Numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients by the radial integration boundary integral and integro-differential equation methods

Abstract. This paper presents new formulations of the boundary-domain integral equation (BDIE) and the boundary-domain integro-differential equation (BDIDE) methods for the numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients. When the material parameters are variable (with constant or variable wave number), a parametrix is adopted to reduce the Helmholtz equation to a BDIE or BDIDE. However, when material parameters are constant (with variable wave number), the standard fundamental solution for the Laplace equation is used in the formulation. The radial integration method is then employed to convert the domain integrals arising in both BDIE and BDIDE methods into equivalent boundary integrals. The resulting formulations lead to pure boundary integral and integrodifferential equations with no domain integrals. Numerical examples are presented for several simple problems, for which exact solutions are available, to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods.