Weizhu Bao

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at National University of Singapore

We prove a nearly optimal error bound on the exponential wave integrator Fourier spectral (EWI-FS) method for the logarithmic Schr\"odinger equation (LogSE) under the assumption of $H^2$-solution, which is theoretically guaranteed. Subject to a CFL-type time step size restriction $\tau |\ln \tau| \leq h^2/|\ln h|$ for obtaining the stability of the...

We study the dynamics of a small solid particle arising from the dewetting of a thin film on a curved substrate driven by capillarity, where mass transport is controlled by surface diffusion. We consider the case when the size of the deposited particle is much smaller than the local radius of curvature of the substrate surface. The application of t...

We propose and analyze a structure-preserving parametric finite element method (SP-PFEM) for the evolution of a closed curve under different geometric flows with arbitrary anisotropic surface energy density γ(n)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \use...

We establish optimal error bounds on time-splitting methods for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with low regularity potential and typical power-type nonlinearity [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the density with [Formula: see text] the wave function and [Formula: see text] the exponent of the nonlinearity. For the first-order Li...

We propose and analyze a novel symmetric exponential wave integrator (sEWI) for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with low regularity potential and typical power-type nonlinearity of the form f (ρ) = ρ σ , where ρ := |ψ| 2 is the density with ψ the wave function and σ > 0 is the exponent of the nonlinearity. The sEWI is explicit and stable...

We establish error bounds of the Lie-Trotter time-splitting sine pseudospectral method for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with semi-smooth nonlinearity f ( ρ ) = ρ σ f(\rho ) = \rho ^\sigma , where ρ = | ψ | 2 \rho =|\psi |^2 is the density with ψ \psi the wave function and σ > 0 \sigma >0 is the exponent of the semi-smooth nonlinearity....

We establish optimal error bounds on time-splitting methods for the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with low regularity potential and typical power-type nonlinearity $ f(\rho) = \rho^\sigma $, where $ \rho:=|\psi|^2 $ is the density with $ \psi $ the wave function and $ \sigma > 0 $ the exponent of the nonlinearity. For the first-order Lie-Trotter...

The dripping-to-jetting transitions in coaxial flows have been experimentally well studied for systems of high interfacial tension, where the capillary number of the outer fluid and the Weber number of the inner fluid are in control. Recent experiments have shown that in systems of low interfacial tension, the transitions driven by the inner flow a...

We derive rigorously the reduced dynamical law for quantized vortex dynamics of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation on the torus with non-vanishing momentum when the vortex core size ɛ→0. The reduced dynamical law is governed by a Hamiltonian flow driven by a renormalized energy. A key ingredient is to construct a new canonical harmonic map to inclu...

Improved uniform error bounds on time-splitting methods are rigorously proven for the long-time dynamics of the weakly nonlinear Dirac equation (NLDE), where the nonlinearity strength is characterized by a dimensionless parameter $\varepsilon \in (0, 1]$. We adopt a second-order Strang splitting method to discretize the NLDE in time, and combine wi...

In this paper, we study the nonrelativistic limit of the cubic nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation in $\mathbb{R}^{3}$ with a small parameter $0<\varepsilon \ll 1$, which is inversely proportional to the speed of light. We show that the cubic nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation converges to the cubic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with a convergence rate...

We derive rigorously the reduced dynamical laws for quantized vortex dynamics of the nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation on the torus with non-vanishing momentum when the vortex core size {\epsilon} \to 0. The reduced dynamical laws are governed by a Hamiltonian flow driven by a renormalized energy. A key ingredient is to construct a new canonical h...

We establish optimal error bounds for the exponential wave integrator (EWI) applied to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLSE) with $ L^\infty $-potential and/or locally Lipschitz nonlinearity under the assumption of $ H^2 $-solution of the NLSE. For the semi-discretization in time by the first-order Gautschi-type EWI, we prove an optimal $ L^2...

We establish error bounds of the Lie-Trotter time-splitting sine pseudospectral method for the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLSE) with semi-smooth nonlinearity $ f(\rho) = \rho^\sigma$, where $\rho=|\psi|^2$ is the density with $\psi$ the wave function and $\sigma>0$ is the exponent of the semi-smooth nonlinearity. Under the assumption of $ H^...

We establish improved uniform error bounds for the time-splitting methods for the long-time dynamics of the Schrödinger equation with small potential and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with weak nonlinearity. For the Schrödinger equation with small potential characterized by a dimensionless parameter ε ∈ ( 0 , 1 ] \varepsilon \in (0, 1]...

We propose and analyze structure-preserving parametric finite element methods (SP-PFEM) for evolution of a closed curve under different geometric flows with arbitrary anisotropic surface energy $\gamma(\boldsymbol{n})$ for $\boldsymbol{n}\in \mathbb{S}^1$ representing the outward unit normal vector. By introducing a novel surface energy matrix $\bo...

We present different regularizations and numerical methods for the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with singular nonlinearity (sNLSE) including the regularized Lie-Trotter time-splitting (LTTS) methods and regularized Lawson-type exponential integrator (LTEI) methods. Due to the blowup of the singular nonlinearity, i.e., $f(\rho)=\rho^{\alpha}$ wi...

We consider the evolution of curve networks in two dimensions (2d) and surface clusters in three dimensions (3d). The motion of the interfaces is described by surface diffusion, with boundary conditions at the triple junction points lines, where three interfaces meet, and at the boundary points lines, where an interface meets a fixed planar boundar...

The pinch-off dynamics of a liquid thread has been studied through numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. Occurring at small length scales, the pinch-off dynamics admits similarity solutions that can be classified into the Stokes regime and the diffusion-dominated regime, with the latter being recently experimentally observed in aqueous tw...

The pinch-off dynamics of a liquid thread has been studied through numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. Occurring at small length scales, the pinch-off dynamics admits similarity solutions that can be classified into the Stokes regime and the diffusion-dominated regime, with the latter being recently experimentally observed in aqueous tw...

For the evolution of a closed surface under anisotropic surface diffusion with a general anisotropic surface energy $\gamma(\boldsymbol{n})$ in three dimensions (3D), where $\boldsymbol{n}$ is the unit outward normal vector, by introducing a novel symmetric positive definite surface energy matrix $\boldsymbol{Z}_k(\boldsymbol{n})$ depending on a st...

Improved uniform error bounds on time-splitting methods are rigorously proven for the long-time dynamics of the weakly nonlinear Dirac equation (NLDE), where the nonlinearity strength is characterized by a dimensionless parameter $\varepsilon \in (0, 1]$ . We adopt a second order Strang splitting method to discretize the NLDE in time and combine th...

We propose and analyze volume-preserving parametric finite element methods for surface diffusion, conserved mean curvature flow and an intermediate evolution law in an axisymmetric setting. The weak formulations are presented in terms of the generating curves of the axisymmetric surfaces. The proposed numerical methods are based on piecewise linear...

We consider the evolution of curve networks in two dimensions (2d) and surface clusters in three dimensions (3d). The motion of the interfaces is described by surface diffusion, with boundary conditions at the triple junction points/lines, where three interfaces meet, and at the boundary points/lines, where an interface meets a fixed planar boundar...

We establish improved uniform error bounds on time-splitting methods for the long-time dynamics of the Dirac equation with small electromagnetic potentials characterized by a dimensionless parameter $\varepsilon\in (0, 1]$ representing the amplitude of the potentials. We begin with a semi-discritization of the Dirac equation in time by a time-split...

We deal with a long-standing problem about how to design an energy-stable numerical scheme for solving the motion of a closed curve under {\sl anisotropic surface diffusion} with a general anisotropic surface energy $\gamma(\boldsymbol{n})$ in two dimensions, where $\boldsymbol{n}$ is the outward unit normal vector. By introducing a novel symmetric...

We propose and analyze volume-preserving parametric finite element methods for surface diffusion, conserved mean curvature flow and an intermediate evolution law in an axisymmetric setting. The weak formulations are presented in terms of the generating curves of the axisymmetric surfaces. The proposed numerical methods are based on piecewise linear...

The logarithmic nonlinearity has been used in many partial differential equations (PDEs) for modeling problems in various applications. Due to the singularity of the logarithmic function, it introduces tremendous difficulties in establishing mathematical theories, as well as in designing and analyzing numerical methods for PDEs with such nonlineari...

We establish uniform error bounds of time-splitting Fourier pseudospectral (TSFP) methods for the nonlinear Klein--Gordon equation (NKGE) with weak power-type nonlinearity and $O(1)$ initial data, while the nonlinearity strength is characterized by $\varepsilon^{p}$ with a constant $p \in \mathbb{N}^+$ and a dimensionless parameter $\varepsilon \in...

We establish improved uniform error bounds on time-splitting methods for the long-time dynamics of the nonlinear Klein--Gordon equation (NKGE) with weak cubic nonlinearity, whose strength is characterized by $\varepsilon^2$ with $0 < \varepsilon \leq 1$ a dimensionless parameter. Actually, when $0 < \varepsilon \ll 1$, the NKGE with $O(\varepsilon^...

We establish improved uniform error bounds for the time-splitting methods for the long-time dynamics of the Schr\"odinger equation with small potential and the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation (NLSE) with weak nonlinearity. For the Schr\"odinger equation with small potential characterized by a dimensionless parameter $\varepsilon \in (0, 1]$ repres...

We propose an energy-stable parametric finite element method (ES-PFEM) to discretize the motion of a closed curve under surface diffusion with an anisotropic surface energy γ(θ) – anisotropic surface diffusion – in two dimensions, while θ is the angle between the outward unit normal vector and the vertical axis. By introducing a positive definite s...

In this paper, the interfacial motion between two immiscible viscous fluids in the confined geometry of a Hele-Shaw cell is studied. We consider the influence of a thin wetting film trailing behind the displaced fluid, which dynamically affects the pressure drop at the fluid-fluid interface by introducing a nonlinear dependence on the interfacial v...

We propose a structure-preserving parametric finite element method (SP-PFEM) for discretizing the surface diffusion of a closed curve in two dimensions (2D) or surface in three dimensions (3D). Here the "structure-preserving" refers to preserving the two fundamental geometric structures of the surface diffusion flow: (i) the conservation of the are...

In this paper, the interfacial motion between two immiscible viscous fluids in the confined geometry of a Hele-Shaw cell is studied. We consider the influence of a thin wetting film trailing behind the displaced fluid, which dynamically affects the pressure drop at the fluid-fluid interface by introducing a nonlinear dependence on the interfacial v...

We propose an accurate and energy-stable parametric finite element method for solving the sharp-interface continuum model of solid-state dewetting in three-dimensional space. The model describes the motion of the film\slash vapor interface with contact line migration and is governed by the surface diffusion equation with proper boundary conditions...

This paper focuses on the accurate and efficient calculation of the photoionization in streamer discharges. The calculation is based on the kernel-independent fast multipole method (FMM) applied to the integral model of the photoionization rate. The accuracy of this method is studied quantitatively for different domains and various pressures in com...

We propose an energy-stable parametric finite element method (ES-PFEM) to discretize the motion of a closed curve under surface diffusion with an anisotropic surface energy $\gamma(\theta)$ -- anisotropic surface diffusion -- in two dimensions, while $\theta$ is the angle between the outward unit normal vector and the vertical axis. By introducing...

This paper focuses on the three-dimensional simulation of the photoionization in streamer discharges, and provides a general framework to efficiently and accurately calculate the photoionization model using the integral form. The simulation is based on the kernel-independent fast multipole method. The accuracy of this method is studied quantitative...

The logarithmic nonlinearity has been used in many partial differential equations (PDEs) for modeling problems in different applications. Due to the singularity of the logarithmic function, it introduces tremendous difficulties in establishing mathematical theories and in designing and analyzing numerical methods for PDEs with logarithmic nonlinear...

We propose an energy-stable parametric finite element method (ES-PFEM) for simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films in two dimensions via a sharp-interface model, which is governed by surface diffusion and contact line (point) migration together with proper boundary conditions. By reformulating the relaxed contact angle condition into a Robin...

We propose an energy-stable parametric finite element method (ES-PFEM) for simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films in two dimensions via a sharp-interface model, which is governed by surface diffusion and contact line (point) migration together with proper boundary conditions. By reformulating the relaxed contact angle condition into a Robin...

We establish uniform error bounds of a time-splitting Fourier pseudospectral (TSFP) method for the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation (NKGE) with weak cubic nonlinearity (and $O(1)$ initial data), while the nonlinearity strength is characterized by $\varepsilon^2$ with $\varepsilon \in (0, 1]$ a dimensionless parameter, for the long-time dynamics up t...

We examine the kinetics of surface diffusion-controlled, solid-state dewetting by consideration of the retraction of the contact in a semi-infinite solid thin film on a flat rigid substrate. The analysis is performed within the framework of the Onsager variational principle applied to surface diffusion-controlled morphology evolution. Based on this...

In this paper, we propose an efficient and accurate message-passing interface (MPI)-based parallel simulator for streamer discharges in three dimensions using the fluid model. First, we propose a new second-order semi-implicit scheme for the temporal discretization of the model that relaxes the dielectric relaxation time restriction. Moreover, it r...

We establish error bounds of the finite difference time domain (FDTD) methods for the long time dynamics of the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation (NKGE) with a cubic nonlinearity, while the nonlinearity strength is characterized by ε 2 with 0<ε≤1 a dimensionless parameter. When 0 < ε ≪ 1, it is in the weak nonlinearity regime and the problem is equiv...

We propose a spectral method by using the Jacobi functions for computing eigenvalue gaps and their distribution statistics of the fractional Schr\"{o}dinger operator (FSO). In the problem, in order to get reliable gaps distribution statistics, we have to calculate accurately and efficiently a very large number of eigenvalues, e.g. up to thousands o...

We present and analyze two numerical methods for the logarithmic Schrödinger equation (LogSE) consisting of a regularized splitting method and a regularized conservative Crank–Nicolson finite difference method (CNFD). In order to avoid numerical blow-up and/or to suppress round-off error due to the logarithmic nonlinearity in the LogSE, a regulariz...

In this paper, we propose an efficient and accurate message-passing interface (MPI)-based parallel simulator for streamer discharges in three dimensions using the fluid model. First, we propose a new second-order semi-implicit scheme for the temporal discretization of the model that relaxes the dielectric relaxation time restriction. Moreover, it r...

We propose and analyze a new numerical method for computing the ground state of the modified Gross-Pitaevskii equation for modeling the Bose-Einstein condensate with a higher order interaction by adapting the density function formulation and the accelerated projected gradient method. By reformulating the energy functional $E(\phi)$ with $\phi$, the...

We propose a parametric finite element method (PFEM) for efficiently solving the morphological evolution of solid-state dewetting of thin films on a flat rigid substrate in three dimensions (3D). The interface evolution of the dewetting problem in 3D is described by a sharp-interface model, which includes surface diffusion coupled with contact line...

Different efficient and accurate numerical methods have recently been proposed and analyzed for the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation (NKGE) with a dimensionless parameter ε∈(0,1], which is inversely proportional to the speed of light. In the nonrelativistic limit regime, i.e. 0<ε≪1, the solution of the NKGE propagates waves with wavelength at O(1) a...

Super-resolution of the Lie-Trotter splitting ($S_1$) and Strang splitting ($S_2$) is rigorously analyzed for the nonlinear Dirac equation without external magnetic potentials in the nonrelativistic limit regime with a small parameter $0<\varepsilon\leq 1$ inversely proportional to the speed of light. In this limit regime, the solution highly oscil...

We establish error bounds of the finite difference time domain (FDTD) methods for the long time dynamics of the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation (NKGE) with a cubic nonlinearity, while the nonlinearity strength is characterized by $\varepsilon^2$ with $0 <\varepsilon \leq 1$ a dimensionless parameter. When $0 < \varepsilon \ll 1$, it is in the weak...

The problem of simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films in three dimensions (3D) by using a sharp-interface approach is considered in this paper. Based on the thermodynamic variation, a speed method is used for calculating the first variation to the total surface energy functional. The speed method shares more advantages than the traditional...

The problem of simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films in three dimensions (3D) by using a sharp-interface approach is considered in this paper. Based on the thermodynamic variation, a speed method is used for calculating the first variation to the total surface energy functional. The speed method shares more advantages than the traditional...

We propose a new fourth-order compact time-splitting ($S_\text{4c}$) Fourier pseudospectral method for the Dirac equation by splitting the Dirac equation into two parts together with using the double commutator between them to integrate the Dirac equation at each time interval. The method is explicit, fourth-order in time and spectral order in spac...

We present and analyze two numerical methods for the logarithmic Schr{\"o}dinger equation (LogSE) consisting of a regularized splitting method and a regularized conservative Crank-Nicolson finite difference method (CNFD). In order to avoid numerical blow-up and/or to suppress round-off error due to the logarithmic nonlinearity in the LogSE, a regul...

We establish error bounds of the Lie-Trotter splitting ($S_1$) and Strang splitting ($S_2$) for the Dirac equation in the nonrelativistic limit regime in the absence of external magnetic potentials, with a small parameter $0<\varepsilon\leq 1$ inversely proportional to the speed of light. In this limit regime, the solution propagates waves with $O(...

Precise positioning of molecular objects from one location to another is important for nanomanipulation and is also involved in molecular motors. Here, we study single-polymer-based positioning on the basis of the exact solution to the realistic three-dimensional worm-like-chain (WLC) model. The results suggest the possibility of a surprisingly acc...

Based on the thermodynamic variation to the free energy functional, we propose a sharp-interface model for simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films on rigid curved substrates in two dimensions. This model describes the interface evolution which occurs through surface diffusion-controlled mass transport and contact point migration along the cu...

We study asymptotically and numerically the fundamental gaps (i.e. the difference between the first excited state and the ground state) in energy and chemical potential of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) - nonlinear Schrödinger equation with cubic nonlinearity - with repulsive interaction under different trapping potentials including box potent...

In this paper, we consider the capillarity-driven evolution of a solid toroidal island on a flat rigid substrate, where mass transport is controlled by surface diffusion. This problem is representative of the geometrical complexity associated with the solid-state dewetting of thin films on substrates. We apply Onsager's variational principle to dev...

We analyze the ground state of a Bose–Einstein condensate in the presence of higher-order interaction (HOI), modeled by a modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation (MGPE). In fact, due to the appearance of HOI, the ground state structures become very rich and complicated. We establish the existence and non-existence results under different parameter regim...

In this paper, we consider the capillarity-driven evolution of a solid toroidal island on a flat rigid substrate, where mass transport is controlled by surface diffusion. This problem is representative of the geometrical complexity associated with the solid-state dewetting of thin films on substrates. We apply the Onsager's variational principle to...

In this paper, we consider the capillarity-driven evolution of a solid toroidal island on a flat rigid substrate, where mass transport is controlled by surface diffusion. This problem is representative of the geometrical complexity associated with the solid-state dewetting of thin films on substrates. We apply the Onsager's variational principle to...

Based on the thermodynamic variation to the free energy functional, we propose a sharp-interface model for simulating solid-state dewetting of thin films on rigid curved substrates in two dimensions. This model describes the interface evolution which occurs through surface diffusion-controlled mass transport and contact point migration along the cu...

Molecular machines from biology and nanotechnology often depend on soft structures to perform mechanical functions, but the underlying mechanisms and advantages or disadvantages over rigid structures are not fully understood. We report here a rigorous study of mechanical transduction along a single soft polymer based on exact solutions to the reali...

We present a regularized finite difference method for the logarithmic Schr\"odinger equation (LogSE) and establish its error bound. Due to the blow-up of the logarithmic nonlinearity, i.e. $\ln \rho\to -\infty$ when $\rho\rightarrow 0^+$ with $\rho=|u|^2$ being the density and $u$ being the complex-valued wave function or order parameter, there are...

We present a regularized finite difference method for the logarithmic Schr\"odinger equation (LogSE) and establish its error bound. Due to the blow-up of the logarithmic nonlinearity, i.e. $\ln \rho\to -\infty$ when $\rho\rightarrow 0^+$ with $\rho=|u|^2$ being the density and $u$ being the complex-valued wave function or order parameter, there are...

Based on the two-dimensional mean-field equations for pancake-shaped dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a rotating frame with both attractive and repulsive dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) as well as arbitrary polarization angle, we study the profiles of the single vortex state and show how the critical rotational frequency change with the s-wave...

Based on the two-dimensional mean-field equations for pancake-shaped dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates in a rotating frame with both attractive and repulsive dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) as well as arbitrary polarization angle, we study the profiles of the single vortex state and show how the critical rotational frequency change with the s-wave...

We study asymptotically and numerically the fundamental gap -- the difference between the first two smallest (and distinct) eigenvalues -- of the fractional Schr\"{o}dinger operator (FSO) and formulate a gap conjecture on the fundamental gap of the FSO. We begin with an introduction of the FSO on bounded domains with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary...

We present two uniformly accurate numerical methods for discretizing the Zakharov system (ZS) with a dimensionless parameter 0 < e = 1, which is inversely proportional to the acoustic speed. In the subsonic limit regime, i.e., 0 < e 1, the solution of ZS propagates waves with O(e)- and O(1)-wavelengths in time and space, respectively, and/or rapid...

We establish a uniform error estimate of a finite difference method for the Klein-Gordon-Schrödinger (KGS) equations with two dimensionless parameters 0 < γ≤1 and 0 < ε≤1, which are the mass ratio and inversely proportional to the speed of light, respectively. In the simultaneously nonrelativistic and massless limit regimes, i.e., γ~ε and ε→0⁺, the...