Monte Carlo Simulation in Statistical Physics: An Introduction

Professor Dr. Kurt Binder, Professor Dr. Dieter W. Heermann (auth.)9783540432210, 3540432213

Monte Carlo Simulation in Statistical Physics deals with the computer simulation of many-body systems in condensed-matter physics and related fields of physics, chemistry and beyond, to traffic flows, stock market fluctuations, etc.). Using random numbers generated by a computer, probability distributions are calculated, allowing the estimation of the thermodynamic properties of various systems. This book describes the theoretical background to several variants of these Monte Carlo methods and gives a systematic presentation from which newcomers can learn to perform such simulations and to analyze their results. This fourth edition has been updated and a new chapter on Monte Carlo simulation of quantum-mechanical problems has been added.Prof. Binder was the winner of the Berni J. Alder CECAM Award for Computational Physics 2001.

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Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages I-VIII
Introduction: Purpose and Scope of this Volume, and Some General Comments….Pages 1-4
Theoretical Foundations of the Monte Carlo Method and Its Applications in Statistical Physics….Pages 5-67
Guide to Practical Work with the Monte Carlo Method….Pages 68-112
Back Matter….Pages 113-129