An Introduction to Computational Physics

Numerical simulation is now an integrated part of science and technology. Now in its second edition, this comprehensive textbook provides an introduction to the basic methods of computational physics, as well as an overview of recent progress in several areas of scientific computing. The author presents many step-by-step examples, including program listings in Java, examples of practical numerical methods from modern physics, and areas in which computational physics has made significant progress in the last decade. The first half of the book deals with basic computational tools and routines, covering approximation and optimization of a function, differential equations, spectral analysis, and matrix operations. Important concepts are illustrated by relevant examples at each stage. The author also discusses more advanced topics, such as molecular dynamics, modeling continuous systems, Monte Carlo methods, genetic algorithm and programming, and numerical renormalization. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and includes many more examples and exercises. It can be used as a textbook for either undergraduate or first-year graduate courses on computational physics or scientific computation. It will also be a useful reference for anyone involved in computational research. Book jacket.