On low order mimetic finite difference methods

These pages review two families of mimetic finite difference methods: the mixed-type methods presented in [Brezzi, Lipnikov, and Simoncini, M3AS, 2005] and the nodal methods of [Brezzi, Buffa, and Lipnikov, M2AN, 2009]. The purpose of this exercise it to highlight the similitudes underlying the construction of the two families. The comparison prompts the definition of a piecewise linear postprocessing of the nodal mimetic finite difference solution, as it was done for the mixed-type method in [Cangiani and Manzini, CMAME, 2008].