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  • Textbook
  • Dec 2013

Basic Concepts in Computational Physics

  • Deterministic methods are presented on a par with stochastic methods
  • Mathematically precise, but driven by the needs of physicists
  • Covers modern applications
  • Extensive appendices deepen the knowledge and present the mathematical basis
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Some Basic Remarks

    • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
    Pages 1-13
  3. Deterministic Methods

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15
    2. Numerical Differentiation

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 17-28
    3. Numerical Integration

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 29-50
    4. The Kepler Problem

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 51-59
    5. Ordinary Differential Equations: Initial Value Problems

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 61-79
    6. The Double Pendulum

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 81-96
    7. Molecular Dynamics

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 97-109
    8. Numerics of Ordinary Differential Equations: Boundary Value Problems

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 111-122
    9. The One-Dimensional Stationary Heat Equation

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 123-129
    10. The One-Dimensional Stationary Schrödinger Equation

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 131-146
    11. Partial Differential Equations

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 147-168
  4. Stochastic Methods

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169
    2. Pseudo Random Number Generators

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 171-183
    3. Random Sampling Methods

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 185-195
    4. A Brief Introduction to Monte-Carlo Methods

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 197-208
    5. The Ising Model

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 209-228
    6. Some Basics of Stochastic Processes

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 229-250
    7. The Random Walk and Diffusion Theory

      • Benjamin A. Stickler, Ewald Schachinger
      Pages 251-273

About this book

With the development of ever more powerful computers a new branch of physics and engineering evolved over the last few decades: Computer Simulation or Computational Physics. It serves two main purposes:
- Solution of complex mathematical problems such as, differential equations, minimization/optimization, or high-dimensional sums/integrals.
- Direct simulation of physical processes, as for instance, molecular dynamics or Monte-Carlo simulation of physical/chemical/technical processes.
Consequently, the book is divided into two main parts: Deterministic methods and stochastic methods. Based on concrete problems, the first part discusses numerical differentiation and integration, and the treatment of ordinary differential equations. This is augmented by notes on the numerics of partial differential equations. The second part discusses the generation of random numbers, summarizes the basics of stochastics which is then followed by the introduction of various Monte-Carlo (MC) methods. Specific emphasis is on MARKOV chain MC algorithms. All this is again augmented by numerous applications from physics. The final two chapters on Data Analysis and Stochastic Optimization share the two main topics as a common denominator. The book offers a number of appendices to provide the reader with more detailed information on various topics discussed in the main part. Nevertheless, the reader should be familiar with the most important concepts of statistics and probability theory albeit two appendices have been dedicated to provide a rudimentary discussion.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“The authors characterize the aim of their book to ‘address the scenarios of direct simulation of physical processes and the solution of complex mathematical problems on a very basic level’. It is directed to lecturers teaching basic courses in Computational Physics and to students as a companion when starting studying in this field.” (Rolf Dieter Grigorieff, zbMATH, Vol. 1287, 2014)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

    Benjamin A. Stickler

  • Institut für Theoretische und Computational Physik, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria

    Ewald Schachinger

About the authors

Ewald Schachinger
Institut für Theoretische und Computational Physik,
Technische Universität Graz, Petersgasse 16, A-8010 Graz
schachinger@itp.tugraz.ac.at
Benjamin A. Stickler
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Karl Franzens Universität
Graz, Universitätsplatz 5, A-8010 Graz, benjamin.stickler@uni-graz.at

Bibliographic Information