Computational Physics Vol Ii

This book is an introduction to the computational methods used in physics and other related scientific fields. It is addressed to an audience that has already been exposed to the introductory level of college physics, usually taught during the first two years of an undergraduate program in science and engineering. It assumes no prior knowledge of numerical analysis, programming or computers and teaches whatever is necessary for the solution of the problems addressed in the text. C++ is used for programming the core programs and data analysis is performed using the powerful tools of the GNU/Linux environment. All the necessary software is open source and freely available. The book starts with very simple problems in particle motion and ends with an in-depth discussion of advanced techniques used in Monte Carlo simulations in statistical mechanics. The level of instruction rises slowly, while discussing problems like the diffusion equation, electrostatics on the plane, quantum mechanics and random walks.

This textbook presents basic and advanced computational physics in a very didactic style. It contains very-well-presented and simple mathematical descriptions of many of the most important algorithms used in computational physics. The first part of the book discusses the basic numerical methods. The second part concentrates on simulation of classical and quantum systems. Several classes of integration methods are discussed including not only the standard Euler and Runge Kutta method but also multi-step methods and the class of Verlet methods, which is introduced by studying the motion in Liouville space. A general chapter on the numerical treatment of differential equations provides methods of finite differences, finite volumes, finite elements and boundary elements together with spectral methods and weighted residual based methods. The book gives simple but non trivial examples from a broad range of physical topics trying to give the reader insight into not only the numerical treatment but also simulated problems. Different methods are compared with regard to their stability and efficiency. The exercises in the book are realised as computer experiments.

This book is an introduction to the computational methods used in physics and other scientific fields. It is addressed to an audience that has already been exposed to the introductory level of college physics, usually taught during the first two years of an undergraduate program in science and engineering. The book starts with very simple problems in particle motion and ends with an in-depth discussion of advanced techniques used in Monte Carlo simulations in statistical mechanics. The level of instruction rises slowly, while discussing problems like the diffusion equation, electrostatics on the plane, quantum mechanics and random walks. The book aims to provide the students with the background and the experience needed in order to advance to high performance computing projects in science and engineering. But it also tries to keep the students motivated by considering interesting applications in physics, like chaos, quantum mechanics, special relativity and the physics of phase transitions. The book and the accompanying software is available for free in electronic form at http://goo.gl/SGUEkM (www.physics.ntua.gr/%7Ekonstant/ComputationalPhysics) and a printed copy can be purchased from lulu.com at http://goo.gl/XsSBdP (vol I at http://goo.gl/Pg1zHc )

This book explains the fundamentals of computational physics and describes the techniques that every physicist should know, such as finite difference methods, numerical quadrature, and the fast Fourier transform. The book offers a complete introduction to the topic at the undergraduate level, and is also suitable for the advanced student or researcher. The book begins with an introduction to Python, then moves on to a step-by-step description of the techniques of computational physics, with examples ranging from simple mechanics problems to complex calculations in quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and more.

Author Franz J. Vesely offers students an introductory text on computational physics, providing them with the important basic numerical/computational techniques. His unique text sets itself apart from others by focusing on specific problems of computational physics. The author also provides a selection of modern fields of research. Students will benefit from the appendixes which offer a short description of some properties of computing and machines and outline the technique of 'Fast Fourier Transformation.'

This is an introductory textbook on computational methods and techniques intended for undergraduates at the sophomore or junior level in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. It provides an introduction to programming languages such as FORTRAN 90/95/2000 and covers numerical techniques such as differentiation, integration, root finding, and data fitting. The textbook also entails the use of the Linux/Unix operating system and other relevant software such as plotting programs, text editors, and mark up languages such as LaTeX. It includes multiple homework assignments.

Computers and computation are extremely important components of physics and should be integral parts of a physicist’s education. Furthermore, computational physics is reshaping the way calculations are made in all areas of physics. Intended for the physics and engineering students who have completed the introductory physics course, A First Course in Computational Physics, Second Edition covers the different types of computational problems using MATLAB with exercises developed around problems of physical interest. Topics such as root finding, Newton-Cotes integration, and ordinary differential equations are included and presented in the context of physics problems. A few topics rarely seen at this level such as computerized tomography, are also included. Within each chapter, the student is led from relatively elementary problems and simple numerical approaches through derivations of more complex and sophisticated methods, often culminating in the solution to problems of significant difficulty. The goal is to demonstrate how numerical methods are used to solve the problems that physicists face. Read the review published in Computing in Science & Engineering magazine, March/April 2011 (Vol. 13, No. 2) ? 2011 IEEE, Published by the IEEE Computer Society

This book is volume II of the Computational Physics Lab series. It covers topics in Electromagnetism and Modern Physics.