WKB-based scheme with adaptive step size control for the Schrödinger equation in the highly oscillatory regime

Abstract: This paper is concerned with an efficient numerical method for solving the 1D stationary Schr\"odinger equation in the highly oscillatory regime. Being a hybrid, analytical-numerical approach it does not have to resolve each oscillation, in contrast to standard schemes for ODEs. We build upon the WKB-based (named after the physicists Wentzel, Kramers, Brillouin) marching method from [2] and extend it in two ways: By comparing the $\mathcal{O}(h)$ and $\mathcal{O}(h^{2})$ methods from [2] we design an adaptive step size controller for the WKB method. While this WKB method is very efficient in the highly oscillatory regime, it cannot be used close to turning points. Hence, we introduce for such regions an automated methods switching, choosing between the WKB method for the oscillatory region and a standard Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 4(5) method in smooth regions. A similar approach was proposed recently in [9, 4], however, only for an $\mathcal{O}(h)$-method. Hence, we compare our new strategy to their method on two examples (Airy function on the spatial interval $[0,\,10^{8}]$ with one turning point at $x=0$ and on a parabolic cylinder function having two turning points), and illustrate the advantages of the new approach w.r.t.\ accuracy and efficiency.