Computational Physics
Course Description

The use of computers in physics, as well as most other branches of science and engineering, has increased many times along with the rapid development of faster and cheaper hardware. This course aims to give the student a thorough grounding in the main computational techniques used in modern physics. It is particularly important in this course that the students should learn by doing. The course is therefore designed such that a significant fraction of the students' time is spent actually programming specific physical problems rather than learning abstract techniques. The course will cover problems in 4(5) broad sections:

• Ordinary differential equations, such as those of classical mechanics.
• Partial differential equations, such as Maxwell's equations and the Diffusion and Schrödinger equations.
• Matrix methods, such as systems of equations and eigenvalue problems applied to Poisson's equation and electronic structure calculations.
• Monte Carlo and other simulation methods, such as the Metropolis algorithm and molecular dynamics.
• (If time permits:) Computer Algebra; an introduction using Maple to the uses and abuses of algebraic computing in physics.

This is not a short course in computing science, nor in programming. It focuses specifically on methods for solving physics problems. Students will be expected to be familiar with basic programming: successful completion of the 1st year computing Lab. is sufficient. There is no requirement that the practical work be done using Microsoft C++ on the departmental computers, but anyone wishing to use some other programming language or computer should consult the lecturer beforehand. This is to make sure there is both help available from demonstrators and that it will be possible to assess the work satisfactorily.