Absorbing boundaries for wave propagation problems (Q1102727)

Reflections or wraparound from boundaries of numerical grids have always presented a difficulty in applying discrete methods to simulate physical phenomena. This study presents a systematic derivation of absorbing boundary conditions which can be used in a wide class of wave equations. The derivation is applied to the Schrödinger equations and to the acoustic equation in one and two dimensions. The effectiveness of the absorbing boundary conditions can be evaluated apriori on the basis of analytic solutions.