Global bounds for the error in solutions of linear hyperbolic systems due to inaccurate boundary geometry

We derive global estimates for the error in solutions of linear hyperbolic systems due to inaccurate boundary geometry. We show that the error is bounded by data and bounded in time when the solutions in the true and approximate domains are bounded. We show that boundary data evaluation errors due to the incorrect locations of the boundaries are secondary effects, whereas the primary errors are from the Jacobian and metric terms. In two space dimensions, specifically, we show that to lowest order the errors are proportional to the errors in the boundary curves and their derivatives. The results illustrate the importance of accurately approximating boundaries, and they should be helpful for high-order mesh generation and the design of optimization algorithms for boundary approximations.