Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms And Computations

By (author) Krauth Werner
Short description/annotation
This book discusses the computational approach in modern statistical physics, adopting simple language and an attractive format with many illustrations, tables and printed algorithms. The style will appeal to students, teachers and researchers in the physical sciences. The focus is on orientation, with implementation details kept to a minimum.
Description
This book discusses the computational approach in modern statistical physics in a clear yet accessible way, and works out its intimate relations with other approaches in theoretical physics. Individual chapters focus on subjects as diverse as the hard sphere liquid, classical spin models, single quantum particles and Bose-Einstein condensation. They contain in-depth discussions of algorithms ranging from basic enumeration methods to modern Monte Carlo techniques. The emphasis is on orientation. Discussions of implementation details are kept to a minimum. The book heavily relies on illustrations, tables and concise printed algorithms to convey key information: all the material remains easily accessible. The book is fully self-contained: graphs and tables can be readily reproduced by programming at most a few dozen lines of computer code. Most sections lead from an elementary discussion to the rich and difficult problems of contemporary computational and statistical physics, and will be of interest to a wide range of students, teachers and researchers in physics and the neighboring sciences. A companion website allows to incorporate the layout material (illustrations, tables, schematic programs) into the reader''s own presentations.
Table of contents
1. Monte Carlo Methods ; 2. Hard Disks and Spheres ; 3. Density Matrices and Path Integrals ; 4. The Bose Gas ; 5. Order and Disorder in Spin Systems ; 6. Entropic Forces ; 7. Dynamic Monte-Carlo Methods
Review quote
This book is the best one I have reviewed all year.
Biographical note
Werner Krauth is Professor of Physics at the Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, and Director of Research at the CNRS, France.
Publisher''s notice
Werner Krauth is Professor of Physics at the Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, and Director of Research at the CNRS, France.
Feature
Easily accessible undergraduate introduction to computational statistical physics today In-depth treatment of broad variety of modern subjects Pedagogical, uniform approach to subject, written by experienced teacher and expert of the field Optimized for readability, completely self-contained Useful for teaching and learning Please see the companion website for schematic code, numerical tables, and image sequences.
Review quote: previous edition
`... a very timely topic. The role of computation in statistical mechanics is increasingly important, ... the inclusion of non-equilibrium problems, quantum systems, and the Bose gas brings this volume bang up to date.'' John Cardy, University of Oxford `... timely and fascinating, ... with a very attractive focus on the structure and efficiency of algorithms.'' Paul Goldbart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Version history
Easily accessible undergraduate introduction to computational statistical physics today In-depth treatment of broad variety of modern subjects Pedagogical, uniform approach to subject, written by experienced teacher and expert of the field Optimized for readability, completely self-contained Useful for teaching and learning Please see the companion website for schematic code, numerical tables, and image sequences.