Solving the 3D Poisson equation

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around solving the 3D Poisson equation using spherical coordinates and spherical harmonics, specifically addressing the challenges associated with boundary conditions at infinity and the application of numerical methods.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines the formulation of the 3D Poisson equation in spherical coordinates and discusses the use of a hyperbolic transformation to manage the infinite grid.
  • The participant describes employing LU-decomposition to solve the equation and applying symmetrical conditions at the origin.
  • There is mention of comparing calculated gravitational potential with theoretical values for a spherical mass distribution, noting satisfactory results at a specific maximum radius.
  • The participant expresses difficulty in setting the potential to zero at infinity and seeks advice on handling this boundary condition.
  • Subsequent posts indicate that the participant claims to have found a solution but does not provide details, prompting requests for sharing the solution with others.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

While one participant claims to have resolved their issue, there is no consensus on the method used or the specifics of the solution, leaving the discussion open-ended regarding the approach to the boundary condition at infinity.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not clarify the assumptions made regarding the mass density function or the specifics of the numerical methods employed, which may affect the applicability of the proposed solutions.

debilo
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TL;DR
I try to solve 3D Poisson equation with boundaries condition at infinity.
Hello !

I want to solve the 3D Poisson equation using spherical coordinates and spherical harmonics.
First I must solve this : ##d^2\phi/dr^2 + 1/rd\phi/dr - l*(l+1)/r^2 = \rho (r)## with ##\phi (\infty ) = 0## (here ##\phi## is the gravitationnal potential and ##\rho## is the mass density).
To deal with the infinite grid I tried to use the hyperbolic transformation ##r = X*arctanh(R)## with ##X## a constant and ##R## between 0 and 1.
I use a LU-decomposition method to solve this. For ##\phi (0)## I apply symmetrical conditions.
I tried to solve the problem in the case of a spherical mass distribution. I compared the calculated potential with the theoretical potential.
I find a pretty good result when I fix the value in rmax.
But for ##\phi (\infty )## I have a problem. In fact I obviously get in trouble when I let R go to 1 (or 0) ; so I take ##Rmin = 0+\varepsilon## and ##Rmax = 1-\varepsilon##.

My question is : do you know a trick to really set the value of the potential to zero at infinity ?
 
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I finally found a solution it's ok !
 
Are you going to post it here? I'm sure others would be interested and they may see something you can to make it even better.
 
debilo said:
I finally found a solution it's ok !
Hi, can you please post the solution?
 

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