Course Overview: This course will provide an introduction to techniques and applications in computational physics. Topics to be covered include: Unix fundamentals; symbolic & numeric computation and programming with Maple; scientific programming using Fortran 77 and C; basic numerical analysis; simulation of lattice and particle systems; random numbers and Monte Carlo techniques. There will be a significant programming component in virtually all stages of the course: tutorials with the instructor will be provided for those of you requiring additional help with programming. See below for a concise syllabus and the Course Topics page for a more detailed description of course coverage.
Text: Due to the significant diversity in topics to be covered, there is no required text for the course. For testing purposes, you will be responsible only for material covered in lectures and homework assignments. I will distribute some class notes when appropriate, but you will usually be responsible for taking notes in class. The optional text, Numerical Recipes (2nd edition), by Press et al is particularly recommended for those of you who anticipate doing further numerical work. Note, however, that the full text of the book is available on-line. Also note that there are distinct Fortran 77 and C versions of the book: choose the one which you feel will suit you best. See the Suggested Reading web page for texts and other references pertinent to the course, and the Course Resources web page for a collection of on-line reference/instructional material.
Grading: Your mark in this course will be determined on the basis of your performance on nine homework assignments, a term project, and three one-hour tests, with the following weighting:
Tests: There will be a total of three tests: two in-class and one in the final exam period:
Homework: See the syllabus below for scheduled homework due dates. Homework will be assigned at least a week before it is due and late homework is subject to 5% devaluation per each full day it is late. As the course progresses, the Homework Schedule web page will contain information concerning current and past assignments. Each homework will contribute roughly equal weight to your final mark but I will discount your worst mark.
Term Papers: Either individually or in consultation with the instructor, each student must choose a topic for a term paper in some area of computational physics. A list of suggested topics will be posted by the end of the third week of class and a one-page outline of your selected project is due Wednesday, October 30 at the latest. All topics must be approved by the instructor. Even if the bulk of the project involves programming, the term paper per se must be prepared in the style of a technical paper or a scientific essay. You are free to submit preliminary drafts of your paper to the instructor for critique; such pre-assessment will not effect your final grade on the paper. You are encouraged to use LaTeX (or TeX) mathematical typesetting software to prepare your papers. Suggested paper length is 15-20 pages double spaced, including figures, graphs and source code listings. Note that the project need not involve programming: for example, a critical essay on the impact of computation on a particular sub-field of physics is a viable option. Term projects are due on December 6: late projects will be devalued 5% per full day late.
Computer Access: All students will be provided with accounts on the Physics Dept. public Unix systems located in the Graduate Computer Lab, RLM 3.118. Note that access to this room requires an entry code; contact the instructor if you don't know the code. You will be sharing the facility with a lot of graduate students, so getting an open seat in the Lab on demand, particularly during peak hours, may become difficult. You should promptly report serious difficulties in getting access to a machine to the instructor so that alternative arrangements can be made. You will be also be given remote access to Center for Relativity Unix machines, and you will be encouraged to use these machines, especially for C and Fortran programming. To the extent possible, physical access to Relativity machines will also be provided. If you have a home computer and a modem, you are encouraged to contact the Physics Dept. Computer Group for information regarding access to campus systems via home machines.
Tutorials: As mentioned above, individual or small-group tutorial sessions may be arranged at mutually agreeable times for those of you who require additional help, particularly with the programming aspects of the course. Although I will try to detect when supplementary instruction is required, please contact me (e-mail preferred) if and when you think you could use a session or two.
Other Help: You should also feel free to contact me via e-mail (preferred) or phone if you have quick questions, or if you are having difficulty getting something to work. Perhaps most importantly, you should strive to develop the ability to make effective use of the available documentation for the software you are using (on-line help, man pages, Web resources, etc.). On-line help tends to be extensive these days (particularly for systems such as Maple) and a little time invested in learning how to extract the information you are looking for usually pays off.
Due | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
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August 28 Unix |
August 30 Unix |
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September 4 Unix |
September 6 Maple |
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H1 | September 9 Maple |
September 11 Maple |
September 13 Scientific Programming |
H2 | September 16 Scientific Programming |
September 18 Scientific Programming |
September 20 Scientific Programming |
H3 | September 23 Scientific Programming |
September 25 Scientific Programming |
September 27 Scientific Programming |
September 30 Scientific Programming |
October 2 Test 1 |
October 4 Soln of Linear Systems |
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H4 | October 7 Soln of Linear Systems |
October 9 Soln of Linear Systems |
October 11 Finite Difference Methods |
October 14 Finite Difference Methods |
October 16 Finite Difference Methods |
October 18 Finite Difference Methods |
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H5 | October 21 Finite Difference Methods |
October 23 Non-linear Equations |
October 25 Non-linear Equations |
H6 | October 28 Cellular Automata |
October 30 Cellular Automata |
November 1 Cellular Automata |
November 4 Particle Simulations |
November 6 Test 2 |
November 8 Particle Simulations |
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H7 | November 11 Particle Simulations |
November 13 Solution of ODEs |
November 15 Solution of ODEs |
H8 | November 18 Solution of ODEs |
November 20 Solution of ODEs |
November 22 Solution of ODEs |
November 25 Monte Carlo Methods |
November 27 Monte Carlo Methods |
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H9 | December 2 Stochastic Simulations |
December 4 Stochastic Simulations |
December 6 Course Evaluation |