Numerical solution of time-dependent Schrodinger equation by combination of the finite difference method and particle swarm optimization

In this paper, a new numerical method is introduced to solve the time-dependent nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The proposed method is a combination of a novel metaheuristic optimization algorithm with the finite difference method. First, the regarded Schrödinger equation with the ralated boundary and initial conditions are converted into an unconstrained problem. For this purpose, the boundary and initial conditions are satisfied using the penalty method and a proper objective function is defined through the discretized governing equation. Then, a successful version of the particle swarm optimization is implemented to minimize the identified error function and find the best nodal values. The simulation results for several cases are illustrated to depict the effectiveness and capability of the introduced sterategy for solving the time-dependent nonlinear Schrödinger equation.