$P_1$--Nonconforming Quadrilateral Finite Element Space with Periodic Boundary Conditions: Part I. Fundamental results on dimensions, bases, solvers, and error analysis

The $P_1$--nonconforming quadrilateral finite element space with periodic boundary condition is investigated. The dimension and basis for the space are characterized with the concept of minimally essential discrete boundary conditions. We show that the situation is totally different based on the parity of the number of discretization on coordinates. Based on the analysis on the space, we propose several numerical schemes for elliptic problems with periodic boundary condition. Some of these numerical schemes are related with solving a linear equation consisting of a non-invertible matrix. By courtesy of the Drazin inverse, the existence of corresponding numerical solutions is guaranteed. The theoretical relation between the numerical solutions is derived, and it is confirmed by numerical results. Finally, the extension to the three dimensional is provided.