A Survey of Computational Physics
by Landau, Rubin H.Edition: CD
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2008-07-01
Publisher(s): Princeton Univ Pr
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Summary
Computational physics is a rapidly growing subfield of computational science, in large part because computers can solve previously intractable problems or simulate natural processes that do not have analytic solutions. The next step beyond Landau'sFirst Course in Scientific Computingand a follow-up to Landau and Páez'sComputational Physics, this text presents a broad survey of key topics in computational physics for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, including new discussions of visualization tools, wavelet analysis, molecular dynamics, and computational fluid dynamics. By treating science, applied mathematics, and computer science together, the book reveals how this knowledge base can be applied to a wider range of real-world problems than computational physics texts normally address. Designed for a one- or two-semester course,A Survey of Computational Physicswill also interest anyone who wants a reference on or practical experience in the basics of computational physics. The text includes a CD-ROM with supplementary materials, including Java, Fortran, and C programs; animations; visualizations; color figures; interactive Java applets; codes for MPI, PVM, and OpenDX; and a PVM tutorial. Accessible to advanced undergraduates Real-world problem-solving approach Java codes and applets integrated with text Accompanying CD-ROM contains codes, applets, animations, and visualization files Companion Web site includes videos of lectures
Author Biography
Rubin H. Landau is professor of physics and director of the computational physics program at Oregon State University. Manuel Jose Paez is professor of physics at Universidad de Antioquia in Colombia. Cristian C. Bordeianu, a PhD candidate at University of Bucharest, is vice principal at Technological High School 1 in Suceava, Romania.
Table of Contents
| Preface xxiii | |
| Computational Science Basics | p. 1 |
| Computational Physics and Science | p. 1 |
| How to Read and Use This Book | p. 3 |
| Making Computers Obey; Languages (Theory) | p. 6 |
| Programming Warmup | p. 8 |
| Structured Program Design | p. 10 |
| Shells, Editors, and Execution | p. 11 |
| Java I/O, Scanner Class with printf | p. 12 |
| I/O Redirection | p. 12 |
| Command-Line Input | p. 13 |
| I/O Exceptions: FileCatchThrow.java | p. 14 |
| Automatic Code Documentation | p. 16 |
| Computer Number Representations (Theory) | p. 17 |
| IEEE Floating-Point Numbers | p. 18 |
| Over/Underflows Exercises | p. 24 |
| Machine Precision (Model) | p. 25 |
| Determine Your Machine Precision | p. 27 |
| Problem: Summing Series | p. 27 |
| Numerical Summation (Method) | p. 28 |
| Implementation and Assessment | p. 29 |
| Errors & Uncertainties in Computations | p. 30 |
| Types of Errors (Theory) | p. 30 |
| Model for Disaster: Subtractive Cancellation | p. 32 |
| Subtractive Cancellation Exercises | p. 33 |
| Round-off Error in a Single Step | p. 34 |
| Round-off Error Accumulation After Many Steps | p. 35 |
| Errors in Spherical Bessel Functions (Problem) | p. 36 |
| Numerical Recursion Relations (Method) | p. 36 |
| Implementation and Assessment: Recursion Relations | p. 38 |
| Experimental Error Investigation (Problem) | p. 39 |
| Error Assessment | p. 43 |
| Visualization Tools | p. 45 |
| Data Visualization | p. 45 |
| PtPlot: 2-D Graphs Within Java | p. 46 |
| Grace/ACE: Superb 2-D Graphs for Unix/Linux | p. 51 |
| Grace Basics | p. 51 |
| Gnuplot: Reliable 2-D and 3-D Plots | p. 56 |
| Gnuplot Input Data Format | p. 58 |
| Printing Plots | p. 59 |
| Gnuplot Surface (3-D) Plots | p. 60 |
| Gnuplot Vector Fields | p. 62 |
| Animations from a Plotting Program (Gnuplot) | p. 64 |
| OpenDX for Dicing and Slicing | p. 65 |
| Texturing and 3-D Imaging | p. 65 |
| Object-Oriented Programs: Impedance & Batons | p. 67 |
| Unit I. Basic Objects: Complex Impedance | p. 67 |
| Complex Numbers (Math) | p. 67 |
| Resistance Becomes Impedance (Theory) | p. 70 |
| Abstract Data Structures, Objects (CS) | p. 70 |
| Object Declaration and Construction | p. 72 |
| Implementation in Java | p. 73 |
| Static and Nonstatic Methods | p. 76 |
| Nonstatic Methods | p. 77 |
| Complex Currents (Solution) | p. 79 |
| OOP Worked Examples | p. 80 |
| OOP Beats | p. 80 |
| OOP Planet | p. 82 |
| Unit II. Advanced Objects: Baton Projectiles | p. 85 |
| Trajectory of a Thrown Baton (Problem) | p. 86 |
| Combined Translation and Rotation (Theory) | p. 86 |
| OOP Design Concepts (CS) | p. 89 |
| Including Multiple Classes | p. 90 |
| Ball and Path Class Implementation | p. 92 |
| Composition, Objects Within Objects | p. 93 |
| Baton Class Implementation | p. 94 |
| Composition Exercise | p. 95 |
| Calculating the Baton's Energy (Extension) | p. 96 |
| Examples of Inheritance and Object Hierarchies | p. 98 |
| Baton with a Lead Weight (Application) | p. 99 |
| Encapsulation to Protect Classes | p. 100 |
| Encapsulation Exercise | p. 101 |
| Complex Object Interface (Extension) | p. 102 |
| Polymorphism, Variable Multityping | p. 104 |
| Supplementary Exercises | p. 105 |
| OOP Example: Superposition of Motions | p. 105 |
| Newton's Laws of Motion (Theory) | p. 106 |
| OOP Class Structure (Method) | p. 106 |
| Java Implementation | p. 107 |
| Monte Carlo Simulations (Nonthermal) | p. 109 |
| Unit I. Deterministic Randomness | p. 109 |
| Random Sequences (Theory) | p. 109 |
| Random-Number Generation (Algorithm) | p. 110 |
| Implementation: Random Sequence | p. 113 |
| Assessing Randomness and Uniformity | p. 114 |
| Unit II. Monte Carlo Applications | p. 116 |
| A Random Walk (Problem) | p. 116 |
| Random-Walk Simulation | p. 116 |
| Implementation: Random Walk | p. 117 |
| Radioactive Decay (Problem) | p. 119 |
| Discrete Decay (Model) | p. 119 |
| Continuous Decay (Model) | p. 120 |
| Decay Simulation | p. 121 |
| Decay Implementation and | |
| Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved. |
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