Existence of $\mathcal{H}$-matrix approximants to the inverses of BEM matrices: the simple-layer operator

We consider the question of approximating the inverse $\mathbf W = \mathbf V^{-1}$ of the Galerkin stiffness matrix $\mathbf V$ obtained by discretizing the simple-layer operator $V$ with piecewise constant functions. The block partitioning of $\mathbf W$ is assumed to satisfy any of the standard admissibility criteria that are employed in connection with clustering algorithms to approximate the discrete BEM operator $\mathbf V$. We show that $\mathbf W$ can be approximated by blockwise low-rank matrices such that the error decays exponentially in the block rank employed. Similar exponential approximability results are shown for the Cholesky factorization of $\mathbf V$.