Arrange the interior values into a vector . Represent the five-point Dirichlet Laplacian as a Kronecker sum , where is the tridiagonal matrix with diagonal and adjacent entries one. This Kronecker sum is real symmetric; the real sampled potential has a real diagonal matrix . Thus
The generator is a skew-Hermitian matrix. Consequently
The matrix exponential is a unitary matrix, either by differentiating its product with its adjoint or by unitary diagonalization of a normal matrix. For the two-dimensional discrete L2 norm , this gives
Applying the same equation to a difference proves stability of a numerical method with a mesh-independent constant one. This is norm conservation of a semidiscrete Schrödinger equation. It concerns continuous time after spatial discretization; an arbitrary subsequent time integrator need not preserve this stability.
The printed coordinates do not discretize the stated square. For with interior points in each direction, use , , , and sample there. The printed and unshifted coordinates instead describe a grid on . The matrix proof is valid for either geometry with its corresponding boundary values, so this transcription-independent statement flaw does not alter the stability conclusion.
At an interior grid point, the five-point finite difference method gives
Let
where the zero Dirichlet boundary values are already incorporated. Stack the unknowns with the index varying fastest. Using the Kronecker product, define
Then the semidiscrete equation is
Moreover,
Thus the directional matrices commute, as in the five-point Dirichlet Laplacian as a Kronecker sum.