English

High-Order Matrix Numerov for Singular Potentials

Atomic Physics 2026-03-11 v1 Nuclear Theory

Abstract

The matrix Numerov method provides an efficient framework for solving the time-independent Schr\"odinger equation as a matrix eigenvalue problem. However, for singular potentials such as the Coulomb interaction, the expected fourth-order convergence deteriorates for low angular momenta due to the behavior of the potential near the origin. We show that this loss of accuracy originates from an implicit boundary assumption in the standard formulation. By incorporating analytic near-origin information into the discretized Hamiltonian, we derive simple boundary corrections that restore fourth-order convergence and can even produce higher convergence rates for ss- and pp-wave energies. The resulting scheme preserves the simplicity and computational efficiency of the original method while significantly improving its accuracy for singular potentials.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.09350,
  title  = {High-Order Matrix Numerov for Singular Potentials},
  author = {Nir Barnea},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.09350},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

6 pages, 4 figures

R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:12:04.539Z