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This paper is devoted to the convergence theory of two-grid methods for symmetric positive semidefinite linear systems, with particular focus on the singular case. In the case where the Moore--Penrose inverse of coarse-grid matrix is used as a coarse solver, we derive a succinct identity for characterizing the convergence factor of two-grid methods. More generally, we present some convergence estimates for two-grid methods with approximate coarse solvers, including both linear and general cases. A key feature of our analysis is that it does not require any additional assumptions on the system matrix, especially on its null space.

When XPS analyses are performed on insulator surfaces, shift and deformation of spectra peaks typically take place due to the surface charging. To achieve reliable XPS measurements, neutralization techniques have been widely adopted but their effectiveness are still limited, and thus, new neutralization technologies are urgently needed. Here, stable XPS spectra in which all the peaks undergo a reduced and nearly constant shift without significant deformation and broadening were obtained by introducing the UV light irradiation, implying that the introduction of the UV light can not only greatly attenuate the strength but also significantly improve both the temporal stability and the spatial uniformity of the surface charging during XPS measurements. This phenomenon, referred to as UV-assisted neutralization in this article, was found as effective as the most commonly used dual beam charge neutralization. Further observations show that the suppression of the charging issue comes from the adsorption of the UV-excited photoelectrons onto the X-ray irradiation region. This neutralization method, combined with the binding energy referencing, can be expected to become a promising alternative technique for solving the charging issues in XPS measurements.

We investigate the fusion cross sections of light nuclei in the presence of linearly polarized intense laser fields. By combining the Coulomb-Volkov solutions with the complex spherical square-well nuclear potential, we derive an explicit formulation of the multiphoton cross section in a self-consistent manner. Our analysis is specifically focused on deuteron-triton (DT) and proton-boron (p$^{11}{\rm B}$) fusion reactions, both of which have garnered widespread attention. The theoretical results reveal that, under conditions of longer laser wavelengths and lower incident particle kinetic energies, a few thousands of photons can participate in the fusion reactions, resulting in a substantial enhancement of fusion cross sections by almost ten orders of magnitude. We elucidate the multiphoton mechanism underlying these findings and discuss their implications.

Multigrid is a powerful solver for large-scale linear systems arising from discretized partial differential equations. The convergence theory of multigrid methods for symmetric positive definite problems has been well developed over the past decades, while, for nonsymmetric problems, such theory is still not mature. As a foundation for multigrid analysis, two-grid convergence theory plays an important role in motivating multigrid algorithms. Regarding two-grid methods for nonsymmetric problems, most previous works focus on the spectral radius of iteration matrix or rely on convergence measures that are typically difficult to compute in practice. Moreover, the existing results are confined to two-grid methods with exact solution of the coarse-grid system. In this paper, we analyze the convergence of a two-grid method for nonsymmetric positive definite problems (e.g., linear systems arising from the discretizations of convection-diffusion equations). In the case of exact coarse solver, we establish an elegant identity for characterizing two-grid convergence factor, which is measured by a smoother-induced norm. The identity can be conveniently used to derive a class of optimal restriction operators and analyze how the convergence factor is influenced by restriction. More generally, we present some convergence estimates for an inexact variant of the two-grid method, in which both linear and nonlinear coarse solvers are considered.

Multilevel methods are among the most efficient numerical methods for solving large-scale linear systems that arise from discretized partial differential equations. The fundamental module of such methods is a two-level procedure, which consists of compatible relaxation and coarse-level correction. Regarding two-level convergence theory, most previous works focus on the case of exact (Galerkin) coarse solver. In practice, however, it is often too costly to solve the Galerkin coarse-level system exactly when its size is relatively large. Compared with the exact case, the convergence theory of inexact two-level methods is of more practical significance, while it is still less developed in the literature, especially when nonlinear coarse solvers are used. In this paper, we establish a general framework for analyzing the convergence of inexact two-level methods, in which the coarse-level system is solved approximately by an inner iterative procedure. The framework allows us to use various (linear, nonlinear, deterministic, randomized, or hybrid) solvers in the inner iterations, as long as the corresponding accuracy estimates are available.

This paper is concerned with the convergence analysis of two-level hierarchical basis (TLHB) methods in a general setting, where the decomposition associated with two hierarchical component spaces is not required to be a direct sum. The TLHB scheme can be regarded as a combination of compatible relaxation and coarse-grid correction. Most of the previous works focus on the case of exact coarse solver, and the existing identity for the convergence factor of exact TLHB methods involves a tricky max-min problem. In this work, we present a new and purely algebraic analysis of TLHB methods, which gives a succinct identity for the convergence factor of exact TLHB methods. The new identity can be conveniently utilized to derive an optimal interpolation and analyze the influence of coarse space on the convergence factor. Moreover, we establish two-sided bounds for the convergence factor of TLHB methods with inexact coarse solver, which extend the existing TLHB theory.

Two-grid methods with exact solution of the Galerkin coarse-grid system have been well studied by the multigrid community: an elegant identity has been established to characterize the convergence factor of exact two-grid methods. In practice, however, it is often too costly to solve the Galerkin coarse-grid system exactly, especially when its size is large. Instead, without essential loss of convergence speed, one may solve the coarse-grid system approximately. In this paper, we develop a new framework for analyzing the convergence of inexact two-grid methods: two-sided bounds for the energy norm of the error propagation matrix of inexact two-grid methods are presented. In the framework, a restricted smoother involved in the identity for exact two-grid convergence is used to measure how far the actual coarse-grid matrix deviates from the Galerkin one. As an application, we establish a unified convergence theory for multigrid methods.

Multigrid is one of the most efficient methods for solving large-scale linear systems that arise from discretized partial differential equations. As a foundation for multigrid analysis, two-grid theory plays an important role in motivating and analyzing multigrid algorithms. For symmetric positive definite problems, the convergence theory of two-grid methods with exact solution of the Galerkin coarse-grid system is mature, and the convergence factor of exact two-grid methods can be characterized by an identity. Compared with the exact case, the convergence theory of inexact two-grid methods (i.e., the coarse-grid system is solved approximately) is of more practical significance, while it is still less developed in the literature (one reason is that the error propagation matrix of inexact coarse-grid correction is not a projection). In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework for the convergence analysis of inexact two-grid methods. More specifically, we present two-sided bounds for the energy norm of the error propagation matrix of inexact two-grid methods, from which one can readily obtain the identity for exact two-grid convergence. As an application, we establish a unified convergence theory for multigrid methods, which allows the coarsest-grid system to be solved approximately.