Numerical comparison of 1D quantum lattice Boltzmann models
Miguel Alfonso Valdivieso Colmenares, José Daniel Muñoz Castaño
Lattice Boltzmann (LB) methods have proven to be powerful tools for simulating classical physical systems such as waves, diffusion and fluid dynamics. For quantum mechanics in one dimension there are two main schemes: one proposed by Meyer, where the Schrödinger equation is interpreted as a diffusion equation with imaginary diffusion constant; the other, proposed by Succi, is based on the Dirac equation, which in the mesoscopic limit reproduces the non-relativistic quantum behaviour in a similar way to lattice Boltzmann models for fluids. In the present work we compare these models by testing the quantum time evolution of a free Gaussian wavepacket. It is found to be in close correspondence with the results of the two models. Time oscillations are found both for the mean and variance of the wavepacket. Also we found their dependences from factors not present in the predicted values. These elements could provide clues for developing a good adaptation of lattice Boltzmann method for the quantum world.
Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment•Jun 10, 2009•1 citation