Convergence rates of curved boundary element methods for the 3D Laplace and Helmholtz equations

We establish improved convergence rates for curved boundary element methods applied to the three-dimensional (3D) Laplace and Helmholtz equations with smooth geometry and data. Our analysis relies on a precise analysis of the consistency errors introduced by the perturbed bilinear and sesquilinear forms. We illustrate our results with numerical experiments in 3D based on basis functions and curved triangular elements up to order four.