Direct numerical solution of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation in coordinate space without partial-wave decomposition

Abstract

Direct numerical solution of the coordinate-space integral-equation version of the two-particle Lippmann-Schwinger (LS) equation is considered without invoking the traditional partial-wave decomposition. The singular kernel of the three-dimensional LS equation in coordinate space is regularized by a subtraction technique. The resulting nonsingular integral equation is then solved via the Nystrom method employing a direct-product quadrature rule for three variables. To reduce the computational burden of discretizing three variables, advantage is taken of the fact that, for central potentials, the azimuthal angle can be integrated out, leaving a two-variable reduced integral equation. A regularization method for the kernel of the two-variable integral equation is derived from the treatment of the singularity in the three-dimensional equation. A quadrature rule constructed as the direct product of single-variable quadrature rules for radial distance and polar angle is used to discretize the two-variable integral equation. These two- and three-variable methods are tested on the Hartree potential. The results show that the Nystrom method for the coordinate-space LS equation compares favorably in terms of its ease of implementation and effectiveness with the Nystrom method for the momentum-space version of the LS equation.