Time-reversible and norm-conserving high-order integrators for the nonlinear time-dependent Schrödinger equation: Application to local control theory

The explicit split-operator algorithm has been extensively used for solving not only linear but also nonlinear time-dependent Schrödinger equations. When applied to the nonlinear Gross–Pitaevskii equation, the method remains time-reversible, norm-conserving, and retains its second-order accuracy in the time step. However, this algorithm is not suitable for all types of nonlinear Schrödinger equations. Indeed, we demonstrate that local control theory, a technique for the quantum control of a molecular state, translates into a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a more general nonlinearity, for which the explicit split-operator algorithm loses time reversibility and efficiency (because it only has first-order accuracy). Similarly, the trapezoidal rule (the Crank–Nicolson method), while time-reversible, does not conserve the norm of the state propagated by a nonlinear Schrödinger equation. To overcome these issues, we present high-order geometric integrators suitable for general time-dependent nonlinear Schrödinger equations and also applicable to nonseparable Hamiltonians. These integrators, based on the symmetric compositions of the implicit midpoint method, are both norm-conserving and time-reversible. The geometric properties of the integrators are proven analytically and demonstrated numerically on the local control of a two-dimensional model of retinal. For highly accurate calculations, the higher-order integrators are more efficient. For example, for a wavefunction error of 10⁻⁹, using the eighth-order algorithm yields a 48-fold speedup over the second-order implicit midpoint method and trapezoidal rule, and a 400 000-fold speedup over the explicit split-operator algorithm.