An a-posteriori adaptive mesh technique for singularly perturbed convection-diffusion problems with a moving interior layer

We study numerical approximations for a class of singularly perturbed problems of convection-diffusion type with a moving interior layer. In a domain (a segment) with a moving interface between two subdomains, we consider an initial boundary value problem for a singularly perturbed parabolic convection-diffusion equation. Convection fluxes on the subdomains are directed towards the interface. The solution of this problem has a moving transition layer in the neighbourhood of the interface. Unlike problems with a stationary layer, the solution exhibits singular behaviour also with respect to the time variable. Well-known upwind finite difference schemes for such problems do not~converge $eps$-uniformly in the uniform norm, even under the condition $N^{-1}+N_0^{-1}approx eps$, where $eps$ is the perturbation parameter and $N$ and $N_0$ denote the number of mesh points with respect to $x$ and $t$. In the case of rectangular meshes which are ({it a~priori,} or {it a~posteriori,}) locally refined in the transition layer, there are no schemes that convergence uniformly in $eps$ even under the {it very restrictive,} condition $N^{-2}+N_0^{-2} approx eps$. However, the condition for convergence can be {it essentially weakened} if we take the geometry of the layer into account, i.e., if we introduce a new coordinate system which captures the interface. For the problem in such a coordinate system, one can use either an {it a~priori,}, or an {it a~posteriori,} adaptive mesh technique. Here we construct a scheme on {it a~posteriori,} adaptive meshes (based on the gradient of the solution), whose solution converges `almost $eps$-uniformly', viz., under the condition $N^{-1}=o(eps^{ u})$, where $ u>0$ is an arbitrary number from the half-open interval $(0,1]$.