Decomposition methods for time-domain Maxwell's equations

Decomposition methods based on split operators are proposed for numerical integration of the time-domain Maxwell's equations for the first time. The methods are obtained by splitting the Hamiltonian function of Maxwell's equations into two analytically computable exponential sub-propagators in the time direction based on different order decomposition methods, and then the equations are evaluated in the spatial direction by the staggered fourth-order finite-difference approximations. The stability and numerical dispersion analysis for different order decomposition methods are also presented. The theoretical predictions are confirmed by our numerical results. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.