Estimates of discrete time derivatives for the parabolic-parabolic Robin-Robin coupling method

We consider a loosely coupled, non-iterative Robin-Robin coupling method proposed and analyzed in Burman et al. (J. Numer. Math. 31(1):59–77, 2023) for a parabolic-parabolic interface problem and prove estimates for the discrete time derivatives of the scalar field in different norms. When the interface is flat and perpendicular to two of the edges of the domain we prove error estimates in the \(H^2\) $H^2$ -norm. Such estimates are key ingredients to analyze a defect correction method for the parabolic-parabolic interface problem. Numerical results are shown to support our findings.