Because of the tremendous increase in the power and utility of computer simulations, in 1986 The University of Georgia created the Center for Simu lational Physics as a unit devoted to the use of simulations in research and teaching. As the international "simulations community" expanded further, we sensed a need for a meeting place for both experienced simulators and beginners to present and discuss new techniques and recent results in an envi ronment which promoted a lively exchange of information. As a consequence, the Center for Simulational Physics established an annual workshop on Re cent Developments in Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics. This year's workshop was the 16th in this series, and the continued interest shown by the simulations community demonstrates quite clearly the useful purpose that these meetings have served. The latest workshop was held at The University of Georgia, February 24-28, 2003, and these proceedings provide a "status report" on a number of important topics. This volume is published with the goal of timely dissemination of the material to a broader audience. We wish to offer a special thanks to IBM Corporation and to the National Science Foundation for partial support of this year's workshop. This volume contains both invited papers and contributed presentations on problems in both classical and quantum condensed matter physics. It is our hope that each reader will benefit from specialized results as well as profit from exposure to new algorithms, methods of analysis, and conceptual developments.
This status report features the most recent developments in the field, spanning a wide range of topical areas in the computer simulation of condensed matter/materials physics. Both established and new topics are included, ranging from the statistical mechanics of classical magnetic spin models to electronic structure calculations, quantum simulations, and simulations of soft condensed matter. The book presents new physical results as well as novel methods of simulation and data analysis. Highlights of this volume include various aspects of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, studies of properties of real materials using both classical model simulations and electronic structure calculations, and the use of computer simulation in teaching.
