Analytical and numerical studies of a finite element PML for the Helmholtzequation

A symmetric PML formulation that is suitable for finite element computation of time-harmonic acoustic waves in exterior domains is analyzed. Dispersio n analysis displays the dependence of the discrete representation of the PM L parameters on mesh refinement. Stabilization by modification of the coeff icients is employed to improve PML performance, in conjunction with standar d stabilized finite elements in the Helmholtz region. Numerical results val idate the good performance of this finite element PML approach.