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Higher-order splitting algorithms for solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation and their instabilities

Since the kinetic and the potential energy term of the real time nonlinear Schrödinger equation can each be solved exactly, the entire equation can be solved to any order via splitting algorithms. We verified the fourth-order convergence of some well known algorithms by solving the Gross-Pitaevskii equation numerically. All such splitting algorithms suffer from a latent numerical instability even when the total energy is very well conserved. A detail error analysis reveals that the noise, or elementary excitations of the nonlinear Schrödinger, obeys the Bogoliubov spectrum and the instability is due to the exponential growth of high wave number noises caused by the splitting process. For a continuum wave function, this instability is unavoidable no matter how small the time step. For a discrete wave function, the instability can be avoided only for $\dt k_{max}^2{<\atop\sim}2 π$, where $k_{max}=π/Δx$.