The Mumford-Shah functional for image segmentation is an original approach of the image segmentation problem, based on a minimal energy criterion. Its minimization can be seen as a free discontinuity problem and is based on Γ-convergence and bounded variation functions theories. Some new regularization results, make possible to imagine a finite element resolution method. In a first time, the Mumford-Shah functional is introduced and some existing results are quoted. Then, a discrete formulation for the Mumford-Shah problem is proposed and its Γ-convergence is proved. Finally, some numerical results, computed from both artificial and real images are presented and discussed.

We discuss a parallel implementation of the domain decomposition method based on the macro-hybrid formulation of a second order elliptic equation and on an approximation by the mortar element method. The discretization leads to an algebraic saddle- point problem. An iterative method with a block- diagonal preconditioner is used for solving the saddle- point problem. A parallel implementation of the method is emphasized. Finally the results of numerical experiments are presented.

About two years ago, Gobbino [21] gave a proof of a De Giorgi's conjecture on the approximation of the Mumford-Shah energy by means of finite-differences based non-local functionals. In this work, we introduce a discretized version of De Giorgi's approximation, that may be seen as a generalization of Blake and Zisserman's “weak membrane” energy (first introduced in the image segmentation framework). A simple adaptation of Gobbino's results allows us to compute the Γ-limit of this discrete functional as the discretization step goes to zero; this generalizes a previous work by the author on the “weak membrane” model [10]. We deduce how to design in a systematic way discrete image segmentation functionals with “less anisotropy” than Blake and Zisserman's original energy, and we show in some numerical experiments how it improves the method.

We treat the problem of constructing exact theories of rods and shells for thin incompressible bodies. We employ a systematic method that consists in imposing constraints to reduce the number of degrees of freedom of each cross section to a finite number. We show that it is very difficult to produce theories that exactly preserve the incompressibility and we show that it is impossible to do so for naive theories. In particular, many exact theories have nonlocal effects.

This paper deals with a finite element method to solve fluid-structure interaction problems. More precisely it concerns the numerical computation of harmonic hydroelastic vibrations under gravity. It is based on a displacement formulation for both the fluid and the solid. Gravity effects are included on the free surface of the fluid as well as on the liquid-solid interface. The pressure of the fluid is used as a variable for the theoretical analysis leading to a well posed mixed linear eigenvalue problem. Lowest order triangular Raviart-Thomas elements are used for the fluid and classical piecewise linear elements for the solid. Transmission conditions at the fluid-solid interface are taken into account in a weak sense yielding a non conforming discretization. The method does not present spurious or circulation modes for nonzero frequencies. Convergence is proved and optimal error estimates are given. Finally, numerical results are shown.

We present the semi-conductor Boltzmann equation, which is time-reversible, and indicate that it can be formally derived by considering the large time and small perturbing potential limit in the Von-Neumann equation (time-reversible). We then rigorously compute the corresponding asymptotics in the case of the Von-Neumann equation on the Torus. We show that the limiting equation we obtain does not coincide with the physically realistic model. The former is indeed an equation of Boltzmann type, yet with memory in time, so that it appears to be time-reversible. We comment on this point, and further describe the properties of the limiting equation.

Stability and asymptotic stability of the solutions of impulsive nonlinear pa ra bo lic equations are studied via the method of differential inequalities.

Linear Force-free (or Beltrami) fields are three-components divergence-free fields solutions of the equation curlB = αB, where α is a real number. Such fields appear in many branches of physics like astrophysics, fluid mechanics, electromagnetics and plasma physics. In this paper, we deal with some related boundary value problems in multiply-connected bounded domains, in half-cylindrical domains and in exterior domains.

The computation of glacier movements leads to a system of nonlinear partial differential equations. The existence and uniqueness of a weak solution is established by using the calculus of variations. A discretization by the finite element method is done. The solution of the discrete problem is proved to be convergent to the exact solution. A first simple numerical algorithm is proposed and its convergence numerically studied.

We consider space semi-discretizations of the 1-d wave equation in a bounded interval with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. We analyze the problem of boundary observability, i.e., the problem of whether the total energy of solutions can be estimated uniformly in terms of the energy concentrated on the boundary as the net-spacing h → 0. We prove that, due to the spurious modes that the numerical scheme introduces at high frequencies, there is no such a uniform bound. We prove however a uniform bound in a subspace of solutions generated by the low frequencies of the discrete system. When h → 0 this finite-dimensional spaces increase and eventually cover the whole space. We thus recover the well-known observability property of the continuous system as the limit of discrete observability estimates as the mesh size tends to zero. We consider both finite-difference and finite-element semi-discretizations.

In this short note we correct a conceptual error in the heuristic derivation of a kinetic equation used for the description of a one-dimensional granular medium in the so called quasi-elastic limit, presented by the same authors in reference[1]. The equation we derived is however correct so that, the rigorous analysis on this equation, which constituted the main purpose of that paper, remains unchanged.