Weak solvability of interior transmission problems via mixed finite elements and Dirichlet-to-Neumann mappings

We study the weak solvability of an interior linear-nonlinear transmission problem arising in steady heat transfer and potential theory. For the variational formulation, we use a Dirichlet-to-Neumann mapping on the interface, which is obtained from the application of the boundary integral method to the linear domain, and we utilize a mixed finite element method in the nonlinear region. Existence and uniqueness of solution for the continuous formulation are provided and general approximation results for a fully discrete Galerkin method are derived. In particular, a compatibility condition between the mesh sizes involved is deduced in order to conclude the solvability and stability of this Galerkin scheme.