A variational approach for linearly dependent moving bases in quantum dynamics: application to Gaussian functions

Abstract

In this paper, we present a variational treatment of the linear dependence for a non-orthogonal time-dependent basis set in solving the Schr\"odinger equation. The method is based on: i) the definition of a linearly independent working space, and ii) a variational construction of the propagator over finite time-steps. The second point allows the method to properly account for changes in the dimensionality of the working space along the time evolution. In particular, the time evolution is represented by a semi-unitary transformation. Tests are done on a quartic double-well potential with Gaussian basis function whose centers evolve according to classical equations of motion. We show that the resulting dynamics converges to the exact one and is unitary by construction.