Physics 410: Computational Physics (Fall 2000)


Instructor: Matthew (Matt) W. Choptuik
Office: Hennings 413 --- Office Hours: TBA and by appointment
Office Phone: 822-2412 --- Home Phone: 222-9424
E-mail: choptuik@physics.ubc.ca
Course Home Page: http://laplace.physics.ubc.ca/People/matt/410/
Instructor's Home Page: http://laplace.physics.ubc.ca/People/matt/index.html

Final Schedule

  • Syllabus
  • News (last update Wednesday Dec 6, 5:00 PM)
  • FINAL EXAM REVIEW TOPICS are available HERE
  • Course Topics
  • Course Notes
  • Suggested References
  • Course Related Software
  • Course Resources
  • Homework Schedule, Problem Sets and Keys
  • Suggested Term Projects
  • Student Pages
  • Computer Access Info: [P & A Computer Labs], [NT Lab Hours], [SGI Machines], [Lnx Lab (PCs)]

    Course Overview

    This course will provide an introduction to techniques and applications in computational physics. Topics to be covered include: Unix fundamentals; symbolic & numeric computation and programming with Maple; scientific programming using Fortran 77; basic numerical analysis; simulation of lattice and particle systems; random numbers and Monte Carlo techniques. There will be a significant programming component in virtually all stages of the course: tutorials with the instructor will be provided for those of you requiring additional help with programming. See below for a concise syllabus and the Course Topics page for a more detailed description of course coverage.

    Text: Due to the significant diversity in topics to be covered, there is no required text for the course. For testing purposes, you will be responsible only for material covered in lectures and homework assignments. I will distribute some class notes when appropriate, but you will usually be responsible for taking notes in class. The optional text, Numerical Recipes (2nd edition), by Press et al is particularly recommended for those of you who anticipate doing further numerical work. Note, however, that the full text of the book is available on-line. Also note that there are distinct Fortran 77 and C versions of the book: choose the one which you feel will suit you best. See the Suggested References page for texts and other references pertinent to the course, and the Course Resources web page for a collection of on-line reference/instructional material.

    Grades: Homework, Term Projects and Tests

    Your mark in this course will be determined on the basis of your performance on six homework assignments, a term project, and two tests, a mid-term and a final, with the following weighting: Final marks may be subject to small adjustments based on overall class performance.

    Tests

    There will be a total of two tests: one in-class and one in the final exam period: Note that the Midterm and Final count equally towards your final grade. In particular, although the Final exam will be scheduled in a regular examination slot, it will not take much (if any) longer than the mid-term to complete. Except under extremely extenuating circumstances there will be NO makeup tests

    Homework

    See the syllabus below for scheduled homework due dates. Homework will be assigned at least a week before it is due and late homework is subject to 5% devaluation per each full day it is late. As the course progresses, the Homework Schedule web page will contain information concerning current and past assignments. Each homework will contribute roughly equal weight to your final mark but I will discount your worst mark.

    Term Projects

    Either individually or in consultation with the instructor, each student must choose a topic for a term paper in some area of computational physics. A final list of suggested topics will be posted by Thursday, September 21 and a one-page outline of your selected project is due Tuesday, October 17 at the latest. All topics must be approved by the instructor. Even if the bulk of the project involves programming, the term paper per se must be prepared in the style of a technical paper or a scientific essay. You are free to submit preliminary drafts of your paper to the instructor for critique; such pre-assessment will not affect your final grade on the paper. You are encouraged to use LaTeX (or TeX) mathematical typesetting software to prepare your papers. Suggested paper length is 15-20 pages double spaced, including figures, graphs and source code listings. Note that the project need not involve programming: for example, a critical essay on the impact of computation on a particular sub-field of physics is a viable option. Term projects are due on November 30 (the last class day). Late projects will be accpeted at the instructor's discretion.

    Computer Access

    All students will be provided with an account for use in the Physics & Astronomy Computer Labs located in Hennings 203 and 203B. You will be also be given remote access to the Numerical Relativity Group's SGI systems and you will be encouraged to use these machines, rather than the departmental server, for C and Fortran programming. To the extent possible, physical access to the Relativity Group machines will also be provided. As the course progresses, you will also be given access to the Beowulf Pentium III/Linux cluster, vn.physics.ubc.ca

    Tutorials

    As mentioned above, individual or small-group tutorial sessions may be arranged at mutually agreeable times for those of you who require additional help, particularly with the programming aspects of the course. Although I will try to detect when supplementary instruction is required, please contact me (e-mail preferred) if and when you think you could use a session or two.

    Other Help

    You should also feel free to contact me via e-mail (preferred) or phone if you have quick questions, or if you are having difficulty getting something to work. Perhaps most importantly, you should strive to develop the ability to make effective use of the available documentation for the software you are using (on-line help, man pages, Web resources, etc.). On-line help tends to be extensive these days (particularly for systems such as Maple) and a little time invested in learning how to extract the information you are looking for usually pays off.

    Syllabus

    Tuesday 10:30 AM Thursday 8:30 AM Thursday 10:30 AM
    September 5
    Unix    		 September 7
    Unix    		 September 7
    Unix
    September 12
    Unix    		 September 14
    Unix    		 September 14
    Maple
    September 19
    Maple [H1 due]    		 September 21
    Maple    		 September 21
    Maple
    September 26
    Fortran    		 September 28
    Fortran    		 September 28
    Fortran [H2 due]
    October 3
    Fortran    		 October 5
    Fortran    		 October 5
    Fortran
    October 10
    Linear Systems    		 October 12
    Linear Systems    		 October 12
    Linear Systems [H3 due]
    October 17
    Finite Difference Methods
    [Term Project outlines due]     		October 19
    Finite Difference Methods    		 October 19
    Finite Difference Methods
    October 24
    Finite Difference Methods    		 October 26
    MIDTERM    		 October 26
    Finite Difference Methods
    October 31
    Finite Difference Methods
    [H4 due]    		 November 2
    Finite Difference Methods    		 November 2
    Finite Difference Methods
    November 7
    Finite Difference Methods    		 November 9
    Finite Difference Methods    		 November 9
    Nonlinear Equations
    November 14
    Nonlinear Equations    		 November 16
    Nonlinear Equations    		 November 16
    Nonlinear Equations
    November 21
    Solution of ODEs [H5 due]    		 November 23
    Solution of ODEs    		 November 23
    Solution of ODEs
    November 28
    Solution of ODEs    		 November 28
    Solution of ODEs    		 November 30
    Course Evaluation
    [H6 and Term Projects due]

    Syllabus Notes

    Other Important Dates

    See the UBC 2000/2001 Calendar and Academic Year pages for more information