English

Numerical Methods and Causality in Physics

Computational Physics 2013-02-25 v1 Quantum Physics

Abstract

We discuss physical implications of the explicit method in numerical analysis. Numerical methods have there own condition for causality, known as the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition. It is proposed that numerical causality merges with physical causality as the grid interval size approaches zero. We discuss the implications of this proposition on the numerical analysis of the wave equation. We also show that, insisting on physical causality, the numerical analysis of Schrodinger's equation implies that the minimum space interval should satisfy Δxa0λc\Delta x \ge a_0 \lambda_c, where λc\lambda_c is the reduced Compton wavelength and a0a_0 is a constant of the order unity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1302.5601,
  title  = {Numerical Methods and Causality in Physics},
  author = {Muhammad Adeel Ajaib},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1302.5601},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

14 pages, 2 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-21T23:30:57.363Z