PHYS 4480

Computational Physics

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025. Courses of Study 2024-2025 is scheduled to publish mid-June.

Covers numerical methods for ordinary and partial differential equations, linear algebra and eigenvalue problems, integration, nonlinear equations, optimization, and fast Fourier transforms. Find out how and why the "black-box" numerical routines you use work, how to improve and generalize them, and how to fix them when they don't. Based on the text Numerical Recipes by William H. Press, Saul A. Teukolsky, William T. Vetterling, and Brian P. Flannery.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (PHS-AS, SDS-AS) (OPHLS-AG)

Comments Assumes familiarity with standard mathematical methods for physical sciences and engineering (basic calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra) and with some form of computer programming (e.g., Python, Matlab, etc.). No physics background beyond electricity and magnetism will be assumed, although familiarity with quantum mechanics at the level of an introductory course will be useful.

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