Multilevel quasi-Monte Carlo for random elliptic eigenvalue problems I: Regularity and error analysis

Random eigenvalue problems are useful models for quantifying the uncertainty in several applications from the physical sciences and engineering, e.g., structural vibration analysis, the criticality of a nuclear reactor or photonic crystal structures. In this paper we present a simple multilevel quasi-Monte Carlo (MLQMC) method for approximating the expectation of the minimal eigenvalue of an elliptic eigenvalue problem with coefficients that are given as a series expansion of countably-many stochastic parameters. The MLQMC algorithm is based on a hierarchy of discretisations of the spatial domain and truncations of the dimension of the stochastic parameter domain. To approximate the expectations, randomly shifted lattice rules are employed. This paper is primarily dedicated to giving a rigorous analysis of the error of this algorithm. A key step in the error analysis requires bounds on the mixed derivatives of the eigenfunction with respect to both the stochastic and spatial variables simultaneously. An accompanying paper [Gilbert and Scheichl, 2021], focusses on practical extensions of the MLQMC algorithm to improve efficiency, and presents numerical results.