COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS

Computational physicists use high-performance computers to explore physical phenomena, from those involving the most fundamental objects such as electrons and asteroids, to those important in applications to areas such as materials science and medical technology. This new approach to physics opens avenues to problems whose solution is otherwise impossible and to gain physical insight needed to make those advances.

Most physical properties of gases, solids and liquids are dictated by the behaviour of the electrons in the atoms that form the building blocks of these systems. It is important that we study and understand these electrons as accurately as possible, so that we can not only describe the physical properties better, but also predict new phases and new types of materials and fabricate solids and liquids with tailored problems. This is a complex problem, residing at the heart of current materials science technology, is being addressed by the research programs of BOSE, MITROVIC and ROTHSTEIN.

VRBIK's reseach is focused on investigating the perturbed Kepler equation to understand the resonances frequently found in our solar system, and to investigate the solar system's stability and long-time behaviour.