Prospectus for Computational Physics

Report by the Subcommittee on Computational Facilities for Theoretical Research to the Advisory Committee for Physics, Division of Physics National Science Foundation, March 15, 1981.

Abstract

Computational Physics extends theoretical physics beyond the limitations of analytic techniques. This extension has become essential to the advance of many different subfields of physics as systems of interest have become more complex, moving from a few degrees of freedom to many degrees of freedom. In this report, specific examples are discussed from the subfields of quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, condensed matter theory, atomic and molecular physics, plasma physics, nuclear physics, physics of fluids, astrophysics, and gravitation theory. In all subfields, computational physics studies inevitable complexity.