The course will be restructured, emphasizing project work and a studio-learning environment. Programming experience (anything like perl, C/C++, MatLab, IDL, Fortran) will be helpful.

Literature: Detailed lecture notes will be available. For further reading, see "Numerical Recipes" by Press et al. I recommend the C version (1992), which is available online.

Besides other things, we will find out how to explode stars and how to make things invisible (at least, on the computer...).


Laptops & MatLAB: Please make sure that you have MatLAB (free for students at UNC) installed on your laptop before class starts - we will be using it in class.


• Syllabus (current as of 01/09/12)


• Schedule
  • Session 01, Jan 10: Introduction
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 02, Jan 12: Floating point numbers, arithmetic operations
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Class programs
  • FP demonstration
  • Home work (due 01/19)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 03, Jan 17: Root finding
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 04, Jan 19: Root finding, convergence conditions and speed.
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • mapping fractals with Newton method
  • simple Newton root finder
  • fractal zoom sequence
  • Home work (due 01/26)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 05, Jan 24: Root finding in multi-dimensions: Newton-Raphson
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • Plotting routine for f(z)
  • Re(f)
  • Im(f)
  • Session 06, Jan 26: Minimization
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a06.m
  • dhsimplex.m
  • fxy.m
  • Home work (due 02/02)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 07, Jan 31: Interpolation
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a07a.m
  • a07b.m
  • Session 08, Feb 02: Interpolation, Linear Systems
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 02/09)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 09, Jan 07: Linear Systems: determinants etc
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 10, Feb 09: Linear Systems: Gauss Elimination
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 11, Feb 14: Linear Systems: Jacobi & Gauss-Seidel methods
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 12, Feb 16: Midterm
  • Home work (due 02/24 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 13, Feb 21: Ordinary Differential Equations
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a13.m
  • derivs1.m
  • derivs2.m
  • derivs3.m
  • Session 14, Feb 23: Ordinary Differential Equations
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 03/02 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 15, Feb 28: Coupled Ordinary Differential Equations
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a15.zip
  • Session 16, Mar 1: Stiff ODEs, Boundary value problems
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 03/16 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 17, Mar 13: Boundary Value Problems: Shooting and Relaxation
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 18, Mar 15: Fourier Series, Fourier Transforms
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a18.zip
  • Home work (due 03/23 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 19, Mar 20: Fourier Transforms, FFT
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a19.zip
  • Session 20, Mar 22: Monte Carlo Integration
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 03/30 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • revised problem sheet
  • Solution
  • Session 21, Mar 27: Monte Carlo Integration
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Programs used in class:
  • a21.zip
  • Session 22, Mar 29: Random Number Generators, Midterm
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Midterm:
  • Questions & Instructions
  • Solution
  • Session 23, Apr 3: Partial Differential Equations: Poisson (elliptic)
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 24, Apr 5: Partial Differential Equations: Diffusion (parabolic)
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 04/13 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution
  • Session 25, Apr 10: Partial Differential Equations: Diffusive Initial Value Problems
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Session 26, Apr 12: Partial Differential Equations: Advective Initial Value Problems
  • ppt-slides (as pdf)
  • Home work (due 04/20 at 8am)
  • Tasks
  • Solution

Class Projects

• Monte Carlo Radtrans
• Boundary Value Problems
• Chaos in low-dimensional systems
• Supernovae
• Time-dependent Schroedinger equation
• Spinning Tops
• Pendulums
• Electromagnetic Cloaking
• Simulated annealing
• Black holes