A new formulation of the Stokes problem in a cylinder, and its spectral discretization
We analyze a new formulation of the Stokes equations in three-dimensional axisymmetric geometries, relying on Fourier expansion with respect to the angular variable: the problem for each Fourier coefficient is two-dimensional and has six scalar unknowns, corresponding to the vector potential and the vorticity. A spectral discretization is built on this formulation, which leads to an exactly divergence-free discrete velocity. We prove optimal error estimates.