260003 PR Laboratory Computational Physics (2008W)

Like Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Computational Physics is a methodological approach, allowing one to tackle problems in the most diverse fields of physics and related disciplines. Similarly, computers as research tools are not tied to any specific area of application. Therefore, this laboratory, although focusing on statistical physics and simulation, is not based on a fixed set of problems, and participants are occasionally encouraged to suggest project topics that are of special interest to them.
The emphasis of the lab is to guide students through a few small, independent study projects, enabling them to apply numerical computer methods to specific questions in subfields of the physical sciences. Typically, two to three projects are studied per group and semester, and students may work individually or collaborate in groups of two or three. Depending on the type of project and computational resources, participants may use the departmental facilities or their own PCs.
Since one of the goals of an advanced lab is to prepare for later thesis work, participants are expected to prepare detailed project reports in the style of scientific mini-publications. These include background information, methodological and practical description of the work performed, as well as presentation and critical discussion of the results.
Prerequisites: Computational Physics I and II or equivalent; good programming and computer skills.