Mixed methods for elastodynamics with weak symmetry

We analyze the application to elastodynamic problems of mixed finite element methods for elasticity with weak symmetry. Our approach leads to a semidiscrete method which consists of a system of ordinary differential equations without algebraic constraints. Our error analysis, which is based on a new elliptic projection operator, applies to several mixed finite element spaces developed for elastostatics. The error estimates we obtain are robust for nearly incompressible materials.