High-order matrix method with delimited expansion domain

Abstract Motivated by the substantial instability of the fundamental and high-overtone quasinormal modes (QNMs), recent developments regarding the notion of black hole pseudospectrum call for numerical results with unprecedented precision. This work generalizes and improves the matrix method for black hole QNMs to higher orders, specifically aiming at a class of perturbations to the metric featured by discontinuity intimately associated with the QNM structural instability. The approach is based on the mock-Chebyshev grid, which guarantees its convergence in the degree of the interpolant. In practice, solving for black hole QNMs is a formidable task. The presence of discontinuity poses a further difficulty so that many well-known approaches cannot be employed straightforwardly. Compared with other viable methods, the modified matrix method is competent in speed and accuracy. Therefore, the method serves as a helpful gadget for relevant studies.