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I'm interested in the density plot of the solution of a 1D time-dependent Schrödinger equation with a given potential. So I have:

ψ = NDSolve[{I D[u[t, x], t] == -D[u[t, x], {x, 2}] + 
 I Sin[x] u[t, x], u[0, x] == Exp[-x^2] Exp[I x], u[t, -Pi] == u[t, Pi]}, u, {t, 0, 5}, {x, -Pi, Pi}]

DensityPlot[Evaluate[Abs[u[t, x]] /. ψ], {x, -Pi, Pi}, {t, 0, 5}, PlotPoints -> 200, Mesh -> False]

However, Mathematica spits out NDSolve::mxsst warning and does not return anything. Any help is appreciated!

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  • $\begingroup$ Not the answer to your question but are you sure that there is I in front of the potential? $\endgroup$ – Buddha_the_Scientist Dec 17 '18 at 13:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Buddha_the_Scientist Thanks for your comment. Yes, it's a complex potential. $\endgroup$ – SomeOne Dec 17 '18 at 13:13
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    $\begingroup$ You did not mention that your code would return a warning. $\endgroup$ – Αλέξανδρος Ζεγγ Dec 17 '18 at 13:14
  • $\begingroup$ There is this post: mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/60386/… which can help. It is talking about the same error. $\endgroup$ – Buddha_the_Scientist Dec 17 '18 at 13:15
  • $\begingroup$ It tries to calculate, but nothing happens. $\endgroup$ – SomeOne Dec 17 '18 at 13:16
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There is this post which is talking about the same error. Following their advice I believe this must work. Please check it and tell me if it is correct or not.

ψ = NDSolve[{ D[u[t, x], t] == I*D[u[t, x], {x, 2}] + Sin[x] u[t, x], 
              u[0, x] == Exp[-x^2] Exp[I x], u[t, -π] == u[t, π]}, 
            u, {t, 0, 5}, {x, -π, π}, Method -> {"MethodOfLines", 
            "SpatialDiscretization" -> {"TensorProductGrid", "MaxPoints" -> 101}}]

and then your plot

DensityPlot[Evaluate[Abs[u[t, x]] /. ψ], {x, -Pi, Pi}, {t, 0, 5}, 
            PlotPoints -> 200, Mesh -> False]

enter image description here

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It is possible that the condition of periodicity 'u[t, -π] == u[t, π]' is wrong. A solution with such a potential cannot be symmetric about zero. On the other hand, we do not know which method to solve is correct. We can compare solutions 

sol = NDSolveValue[{I D[u[t, x], t] == -D[u[t, x], {x, 2}] + 
     I Sin[x] u[t, x], u[0, x] == Exp[-(x - Pi)^2] Exp[I (x - Pi)], 
   PeriodicBoundaryCondition[u[t, x], x == 2*\[Pi], 
    Function[x, x - 2*\[Pi]]]}, u, {t, 0, 5}, {x, 0, 2*Pi}];
sol1 = NDSolveValue[{D[u[t, x], t] == 
    I*D[u[t, x], {x, 2}] + Sin[x] u[t, x], 
   u[0, x] == Exp[-(x - Pi)^2] Exp[I (x - Pi)], 
   u[t, 0] == u[t, 2*\[Pi]]}, u, {t, 0, 5}, {x, 0, 2*\[Pi]}, 
  Method -> {"MethodOfLines", 
    "SpatialDiscretization" -> {"TensorProductGrid", 
      "MaxPoints" -> 10000}}];
sol2 = NDSolveValue[{I D[u[t, x], t] == -D[u[t, x], {x, 2}] + 
     I Sin[x] u[t, x], u[0, x] == Exp[-(x - Pi)^2] Exp[I (x - Pi)], 
   u[t, 0] == u[t, 2*\[Pi]]}, u, {t, 0, 5}, {x, 0, 2*\[Pi]}, 
  Method -> {"MethodOfLines", 
    "SpatialDiscretization" -> {"TensorProductGrid", 
      "MaxPoints" -> 100}}]
    {DensityPlot[Abs[sol[t, x]], {x, 0, 2*Pi}, {t, 0, 5}, 
      PlotPoints -> 50, MaxRecursion -> 2, PlotLegends -> Automatic, 
      ColorFunction -> Hue, FrameLabel -> {"x", "t"}, PlotRange -> All], 
     DensityPlot[Abs[sol1[t, x]], {x, 0, 2*Pi}, {t, 0, 5}, 
      PlotPoints -> 50, MaxRecursion -> 2, PlotLegends -> Automatic, 
      ColorFunction -> Hue, FrameLabel -> {"x", "t"}, PlotRange -> All], 
     DensityPlot[Abs[sol1[t, x]], {x, 0, 2*Pi}, {t, 0, 5}, 
      PlotPoints -> 50, MaxRecursion -> 2, PlotLegends -> Automatic, 
      ColorFunction -> Hue, FrameLabel -> {"x", "t"}, PlotRange -> All]}

fig1

Obviously, one of the methods is erroneous. But only sol1 and sol2 have a message NDSolveValue::mxsst: Using maximum number of grid points 10000 allowed by the MaxPoints or MinStepSize options for independent variable x. and NDSolveValue::mxsst: Using maximum number of grid points 100 allowed by the MaxPoints or MinStepSize options for independent variable x.

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  • $\begingroup$ The result is incorrect because: 1. Since you've moved the domain to $[0,2π]$, the PDE should be modified accordingly, you forgot to modify the I Sin[x] u[t, x] term. 2. There's a bug in PeriodicBoundaryCondition: mathematica.stackexchange.com/q/124737/1871 $\endgroup$ – xzczd Dec 18 '18 at 10:45
  • $\begingroup$ @xzczd 1. It is possible that the condition of periodicity u[t, -π] == u[t, π] is wrong. A solution with such a potential cannot be symmetric about zero. 2. We can compare two solutions. $\endgroup$ – Alex Trounev Dec 18 '18 at 12:13
  • $\begingroup$ The mxsst warning can be eliminated with e.g. Method -> {"MethodOfLines", "SpatialDiscretization" -> {"TensorProductGrid", "MaxPoints" -> 200, "MinPoints" -> 200, "DifferenceOrder" -> 4}}, and the solution still looks the same. $\endgroup$ – xzczd Dec 18 '18 at 13:21
  • $\begingroup$ @xzczd I agree with the use of the method "MethodOfLines", but the condition u[t, -π] == u[t, π] is obviously erroneous. It should also be understood why the first method does not agree with the second. $\endgroup$ – Alex Trounev Dec 18 '18 at 16:48
  • $\begingroup$ I've started a new question for the inconsistency between FiniteElement and TensorProductGrid: mathematica.stackexchange.com/q/188109/1871 $\endgroup$ – xzczd Dec 18 '18 at 17:44

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