Learning Outcomes
Introduction of the students to the background associated with computer simulations of materials in different spatial and temporal scales, familiarization with the appropriate computational techniques for handling various problems related to the study of materials properties, comprehension of the approximations and the limits of each method, development of the skills for the interpretation and correlation of the results to pertinent experimental findings
Course Content (Syllabus)
Elements of statistical thermodynamics: probabilities, partition function, from probability to thermodynamics. 2. Simulations and Statistical Thermodynamics: Monte Carlo, Molecular Dynamics, Brownian Dynamics. 3. Computation of structural and thermodynamic properties of materials: radial distribution function and static structure factor, dynamic structure factor, density and compressibility, diffusivity, phase diagrams. 4.Comparison with experimentally determined quantities: X-ray and neutron scattering, inelastic neutron scattering, NMR spectroscopy, dielectric spectroscopy
Additional bibliography for study
• D. Raabe, “Computational Materials Science: The Simulation of Materials Microstructures and Properties”, John Wiley & Sons, Weinheim, Germany (1998)
• D. Frenkel and B. Smit “Understanding Molecular Simulation : from Algorithms to Applications”, Academic Press, San Diego (2002)