On spline Galerkin methods for singular integral equations with piecewise continuous coefficients

Summary This article analizes the convergence of the Galerkin method with polynomial splines on arbitrary meshes for systems of singular integral equations with piecewise continuous coefficients inL ² on closed or open Ljapunov curves. It is proved that this method converges if and, for scalar equations and equidistant partitions, only if the integral operator is strongly elliptic (in some generalized sense). Using the complete asymptotics of the solution, we provide error estimates for equidistant and for special nonuni-form partitions.