Decoherence in Quantum Spin Systems

Computer simulations of decoherence in quantum spin systems require the solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for interacting quantum spin systems over extended periods of time. We use exact diagonalization, the Chebyshev polynomial technique, four Suzuki-formula algorithms, and the short-iterative-Lanczos method to solve a simple model for decoherence of a quantum spin system by an environment consisting of quantum spins, and compare advantages and limitations of different algorithms.