Theoretical analysis of Nedelec's edge elements

The Nedelec edge elements are now widely used for numerical analysis of var ious electromagnetic problems. However, it has not been easy to show their mathematical validity since the formulations associated with the edge eleme nts are usually based on some mixed variational principles an special funct ion spaces. In particular case of the simplest Nedelec simplex elements, th e present author formerly showed the discrete compactness which plays essen tial roles in theoretical analysis of such elements. Here we present some n ew results on such a property for more general edge elements using an appro ach slightly different from that employed by Boffi to obtain results on the same subject.