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From Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations
Contents |
[edit] Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations (called the "SMAC-book")...
... is a text book, written by Werner Krauth, and published by Oxford University Press in the "Oxford Master Series in statistical, computational, and theoretical physics". It is widely available in book stores and libraries. The book
- discusses key concepts in statistical physics using algorithms.
- discusses key concepts in algorithms using statistical physics.
- presents a pedagogical, uniform approach to subjects as diverse as Monte Carlo methods, Molecular dynamics, quantum Monte Carlo, the Ising model, cluster algorithms, etc. It is written by an experienced teacher and expert of the field.
- is completely self-contained: All you need to study Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations is the book, a laptop ... and a sofa. This was noticed by one reviewer. The book heavily relies on illustrations, tables and pseudocode algorithms to convey key information, and one never needs to look up information elsewhere. All graphs and tables can be reproduced by programming at most a few dozen lines of computer code. The pseudocode used is very similar to the Python programming language.
[edit] This wiki site (called the "SMAC-wiki")...
... allows to read excerpts of Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations. It also contains informations on the author, reviews of Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations, and accounts of teaching experiences using the book.
Most importantly, SMAC-wiki supplements the pseudocode algorithms of the book with programs written in several popular programming languages. Jump to the page Direct_pi to get a first glimpse at the programs, in languages from TI-BASIC (on pocket calculators) to C++ to Mathematica to Python (on a real computer). You will see a simple program that can be played, on sunny afternoons, on the beach, with a few pebbles, and a stick...This simple program familiarizes you with the concept of sampling, the bread and butter of Monte Carlo methods.
Expert readers might jump right to the dirct-sampling page Direct Levy (under construction) for the Feynman path integral, among many other advanced topics...
[edit] Sample pages
[edit] Page from Chap 1
