B.S. COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS [PHYS-541] SYLLABUS

Computer Languages and Software Packages: Computing Environments, Software Development Process, Algorithm design, Program composition, Programming using Basic, C or C++ etc., Use of software packages for computation e.g. MATLAB etc.

Error Analysis: Error definition, Approximations and Round-off errors, Truncation errors and Taylor series, Techniques for elimination of errors

Numerical Methods: Locating roots of equations, Matrix Algebra and solving systems of equations, Optimization and linear programming, Polynomial Interpolation, Approximation by SP line functions, Curve-fitting and approximation of functions, Numerical differentiation and integration, Monte Carlo methods and random numbers.

Modeling and Simulation: Conceptual models, Mathematical models, Doing Physics with random numbers, Computer Simulation.

Modeling of Physical Phenomena: Motion of falling objects, Kepler’s problems, One and Two dimensional dynamics, Field of static charges and current, Wave phenomena, Scattering experiments, Diffusion and Population genetics etc.

Recommended Text:
1- Steven C. Chapra, Raymond P. Canale,“ Numerical Methods for Engineers with Programming and Software Applications”, Third Edition McGraw-Hill, Inc. (1998).
2- Curtis Fitzgerald, Patrick Whetley, “Applied Numerical Analysis”, Sixth Edition, Addison Wesley Longman Publishing Company, U.S.A (1997)
3- Alejandro L. Garcia, “ Numerical Methods for Physics ”, Second Edition, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey (2000).
4- M. L De Jong, “Introduction to Computational Physics”, Addison Wesley Publishing Company Inc. Massachusetts (1991).
5- P K Mackeown, D. J Newman, “Computational Techniques in Physics”, Adam Hilger, Bristol (1987).
6- H. Gould & J. Tobochnik, “An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods”, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Massachusetts (1988).