Universität Wien

260007 VO Advanced Computational Physics (2021S)

6.00 ECTS (4.00 SWS), SPL 26 - Physik
Moodle

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Details

Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 08.03. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 10.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 15.03. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 17.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 22.03. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 24.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 12.04. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 14.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 19.04. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 21.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 26.04. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 28.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 03.05. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 05.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 10.05. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 12.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 17.05. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 19.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 26.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 31.05. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 02.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 07.06. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 09.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 14.06. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 16.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital
  • Monday 21.06. 13:00 - 14:30 Digital
  • Wednesday 23.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In one of the major paradigm shifts in physics in the past half century, computational physics, the application of purely computer-based methods to the solution of physical problems, has established itself as an independent "third methodology", in addition to the conventional approaches, experimental and theoretical Physics. Like its sister disciplines, computational physics is a method, rather than a specific subfield of physics, and thus is not limited to any particular area. Applications range from tests of approximate theoretical methods (by providing numerically exact results for well-chosen model systems) to replacement/extension of laboratory experiments to extreme space and time scales or physical conditions. Thanks to the continuous increase in computer power, more and more sophisticated physical models may be simulated in detail and their properties investigated at will.
This course, which aims at depth rather than breadth, offers an introduction to the most important many-body simulation techniques in statistical mechanics and will cover the following topics:
- Monte Carlo simulations
- Molecular Dynamics
- Long-range interactions
" Entropy and free energy
- Rare events
Since the emphasis of the course is on providing practical knowledge, all algorithms are explained in detail and illustrated by sample programs, so that students may readily extend them or write their own code if they wish to. For the same reason, the accompanying problem class is considered an integral part of the course.
Prerequisites: Computational Physics I or equivalent, fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics and Quantum Mechanics, good programming skills.

Assessment and permitted materials

The written exam will be conducted in the format of a "digital written exam with exam sheet for download" (to be taken from home). The exam questions will be provided for download on a separate Moodle page for the exam 15 minutes before the official start of the exam. Solutions must be uploaded not later than 30 minutes after the official end of the exam.

Registration for the exam is possible via u:space as usual.

The exam is in the format of an "open-book exam", i.e. it has to be written independently without anybody else's help, but documents like the lecture notes accompanying the lecture or textbooks may be used. Answers may be written on the print-outs of the provided question sheets or on separate paper.

For upload, your hand-written solutions should be digitized with a scanner or photographed with a cell phone. Please upload all your answers in a singe pdf file.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

At the exam, at least 50% of the possible points need to be obtained for a positive grade.

Examination topics

Exam topics include all topics of the lecture notes that are treated in the lecture. The lecture notes are available on the Moodle page of the course.

Reading list

M.P. Allen, D.J. Tildesley, Computer Simulation of Liquids, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1978.
D. Frenkel, B. Smit, Understanding Molecular Simulation, Academic Press, San Diego, 2002.
D.C. Rapaport, The Art of Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Cambridge University Press, 1995.
M. E. Newman, G. T. Barkema, Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1999.
M. E. Tuckerman, Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Molecular Simulation, Oxford University Press, 2010.
David P. Landau and K. Binder, Monte Carlo Simulations in Statistical Physics, Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Association in the course directory

M-CORE 1

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:21