Spectral method for the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a harmonic trap

Abstract

We study the numerical resolution of the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, a nonlinear Schrödinger equation used to simulate the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates. Considering condensates trapped in harmonic potentials, we present an efficient algorithm by making use of a spectral-Galerkin method, using a basis set of harmonic-oscillator functions, and the Gauss-Hermite quadrature. We apply this algorithm to the simulation of condensate breathing and scissor modes.