Computational physics
Computer physics , also Computational Physics (CP) or computer-aided physics , is a branch of physics that deals with the computer simulation of physical processes. It is sometimes also called physics informatics or numerical physics .
The methods of numerical mathematics serve as the basis . Computer physics deals with methods that solve the initial equations that describe a physical system numerically or algebraically with the computer or with the simulation of control systems, which makes the establishment of equations unnecessary. Due to comparable processes, there is a close relationship with computational chemistry , which means that they influence one another very strongly.
Working method
Computer-aided physics examines physical problems that can usually be described with equations, but the solution of which cannot be calculated directly in a closed formula. Such closed solutions only exist for very few idealized systems (e.g. Kepler problem , hydrogen atom or two-dimensional Ising model ).
Every simulation is based on a model that describes reality within the framework of certain approximations . The computer is used to implement the modeled system and to measure physical quantities and to determine the effects of the model parameters. Computer-aided physics may also include the adaptation of software and hardware to the problem to be solved.
The spectrum of computing resources required ranges from a few milliseconds on simple PCs to monthly bills on mainframes and supercomputers .
Examples
application areas
Computer-aided physics is now used for research in almost all areas of physics:
- Quantum field theory / lattice theory , e.g. B. in lattice chromodynamics to research the strong interaction
- Astrophysics and cosmology , e.g. B. in the creation of the universe
- Numerical fluid mechanics , e.g. B. in simulations of air resistance
- Statistical Physics , e.g. B. in the Ising or XY model
- Plasma physics
- Solid state physics , e.g. B. at phase transitions
- Thermodynamics , e.g. B. Systems of Condensed Matter
- Meteorology and climatology , e.g. B. in weather and climate simulations
- Biophysics , e.g. B. in the simulation of protein folds
Problem types
Many computer simulations of physical systems can be traced back to the solution of the following mathematical problems:
- Solution of differential equations
- Solution of eigenvalue and eigenvector problems
- Matrix inversion
- Calculation of integrals
Methods
The most common methods of computational physics include:
- Monte Carlo simulation , e.g. B. by means of the Metropolis algorithm
- Molecular dynamics simulation
- Finite difference method
- Finite element method
- Finite volume method
- Spectral method
- Density functional theory
See also
literature
- Paul L. DeVries: Computational Physics : Fundamentals Methods Exercises . Spektrum Akad. Verl., Heidelberg, Berlin, Oxford 1995, ISBN 3-86025-336-0 (432 pages).
- Stefan Gerlach: Computer Physics: Introduction, Examples and Applications . 2nd Edition. Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg 2019, ISBN 978-3-662-59245-8 (290 pages).
- Alexander K. Hartmann, Heiko Rieger, Optimization Algorithms in Physics , Wiley-VCH, 2002, ISBN 3527403078
- Alexander K. Hartmann, A Practical Guide To Computer Simulation , World Scientific Publishing Company, 2009, ISBN 9812834141
- István Montvay , Gernot Münster, Quantum Fields on a Lattice , Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics, ISBN 0521599172
- Tao Pang, An Introduction to Computational Physics , Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0521825695
- Philipp OJ Scherer, Computational Physics: Simulation of Classical and Quantum Systems, second edition , Springer, Berlin, 2013, ISBN 9783319004006
- Franz J. Vesely, Computational Physics - An Introduction , Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York-London 2001, ISBN 0306466317
- Harald Wiedemann: Numerical Physics. Selected examples of theoretical physics with C ++ . 2nd Edition. Springer Spectrum, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-662-58185-8 .
Web links
- Franz Vesely: "Computational Physics" web tutorial
- Link catalog on the topic of computer-aided physics at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )