Unitary Integration with Operator Splitting for Weakly Dissipative Systems
Abstract
Unitary integration is a numerical method that preserves the structure of the quantum Liouville equation by evolving the density via unitary transformations. Unitary integrators preserve the kinematic invariants C(sub j) = trp(sup j), j = 1,..., n to all orders in the time step. Here we extend unitary integration to weakly dissipative systems. We apply the technique of operator splitting, using a unitary integrator for the Hamiltonian evolution and a conventional integrator for the dissipative piece. In this way, we guarantee that all dissipation and decoherence (variation of the C(sub j)) is due to the new non-Hamiltonian terms and not to any numerical artifacts. We illustrate the method with examples.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 20, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA395111
Entities
People
- B. A. Shadwick
- W. F. Buell
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation