Error bounds of fourth-order compact finite difference methods for the Dirac equation in the massless and nonrelativistic regime

We establish the error bounds of fourth-order compact finite difference (4cFD) methods for the Dirac equation in the massless and nonrelativistic regime, which involves a small dimensionless parameter $0 < \varepsilon \le 1$ inversely proportional to the speed of light. In this regime, the solution propagates waves with wavelength $O(\varepsilon)$ in time and $O(1)$ in space, as well as with the wave speed $O(1/\varepsilon)$ rapid outgoing waves. We adapt the conservative and semi-implicit 4cFD methods to discretize the Dirac equation and rigorously carry out their error bounds depending explicitly on the mesh size $h$, time step $\tau$ and the small parameter $\varepsilon$. Based on the error bounds, the $\varepsilon$-scalability of the 4cFD methods is $h = O(\varepsilon^{1/4})$ and $\tau = O(\varepsilon^{3/2})$, which not only improves the spatial resolution capacity but also has superior accuracy than classical second-order finite difference methods. Furthermore, physical observables including the total density and current density have the same conclusions. Numerical results are provided to validate the error bounds and the dynamics of the Dirac equation with different potentials in 2D is presented.