Computational statistical physics

The present book is an outcome of the SERC school on Computational Statistical Physics held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, in December 2008. Numerical experimentation has played an extremely important role in statistical physics in recent years. Lectures given at the School covered a large number of topics of current and continuing interest. Based on lectures by active researchers in the field- Bikas Chakrabarti, S Chaplot, Deepak Dhar, Sanjay Kumar, Prabal Maiti, Sanjay Puri, Purusattam Ray, Sitangshu Santra and Subir Sarkar- the nine chapters comprising the book deal with topics that range from the fundamentals of the field, to problems and questions that are at the very forefront of current research. This book aims to expose the graduate student to the basic as well as advanced techniques in computational statistical physics. Following a general introduction to statistical mechanics and critical phenomena, the various chapters cover Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulation methodology, along with a variety of applications. These include the study of coarsening phenomena and diffusion in zeolites. In addition, graphical enumeration techniques are covered in detail with applications to percolation and polymer physics, and methods for optimisation are also discussed. Beginning graduate students and young researchers in the area of statistical physics will find the book useful. In addition, this will also be a valuable general reference for students and researchers in other areas of science and engineering.