Physical Computer Simulation Research Articles

Preface

Computer simulations are well established third pillar of the modem natural sciences. It complements the experiment and theory, and to the emerging the fourth pillar, the extraction of the new knowledge from the big data sets. The conference Computer simulations in Physics and beyond (CSP2020) are multidisciplinary meetings focusing on computational physics and related subjects. Indeed, computational physics methods prove useful in a broad spectrum of research in multiple natural sciences branches, and this volume provides a sample. The applications of machine learning in the natural sciences were presented at CSP2020 as well.This volume collects the refereed papers based on plenary, invited, and oral talks and the posters presented at the Fourth International Conference on Computer Simulations in Physics and beyond (CSP2020), which took place October 12-16, 2020 in Moscow. The CSP2020 conference continues the tradition started by an inaugural conference in 2015. It was jointly organized by the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, and Science Center in Chernogolovka.This year is unusual for the CSP conference due to the pandemic. We understood the difficulty for some participants to come to Moscow, taking into account the lockdowns around the world. Consequently, we change the usual format of the Conference: both plenary talks and parallel sessions will be afternoon due to the equilibration of the time zone differences around the globe. Parallel sessions include the contributed talks (20 min) and the poster talks (short online talks up to 10 min). We decided to add an epilogue to discuss the experience of shifting the conference online during a pandemic. The discussion particularly emphasizes the advantages and disadvantages of that move. We wrote the epilogue with the hope that our modest experience can be useful to other conference organizers.We hope that this volume will interest readers, and we are already looking forward to the next conference in the series.Moscow, RussiaDecember, 2020CSP2020 Conference Chair and Volume EditorLev Shchurhttp://csp2020.ac.ru/

Organizing an international conference online during a pandemic: first experience

We discuss an international conference, “Computer simulations in Physics and beyond” organized at October 2020 during a pandemic. We pay a particular account for the advantages and disadvantages of holding an international conference online.

International Conference on Computer Simulation in Physics and Beyond

PrefaceComputer simulations are well established third pillar of the modern natural sciences. It is the complement to the experiment and theory, and to the emerging the fourth pillar, the extraction of the new knowledge from the big data sets.This volume collects the referred papers based on plenary, invited, and oral talks, as well on the posters presented at the Third International Conference on Computer Simulations in Physics and beyond (CSP2018), which took place September 24-27, 2018 in Moscow. The Conference continues the tradition started by an inaugural conference in 2015. It took place on the campus of A.N. Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics in Strogino, was jointly organized by the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics and Science Center in Chernogolovka.The Conference is a multidisciplinary meeting, with a focus on computational physics and related subjects. Indeed, methods of computational physics prove useful in a broad spectrum of research in multiple branches of natural sciences, and this volume provides a sample.We hope that this volume will interest readers, and we are already looking forward to the next conference in the series.Moscow, RussiaNovember, 2018CSP2018 Conference Chair and Volume EditorLev Shchur

Computer Simulations in Physics and beyond (CSP2017)

PrefaceComputer simulations are nowadays a firmly established third pillar of modern natural sciences, complementing experimentation and paper-and-pencil theoretical studies. Simulations, experiments in silico, prove indispensable in diverse areas of research in physics and other natural sciences.This volume collects papers based on presentations delivered at the Second International Conference on Computer Simulations in Physics and beyond (CSP2017), which took place October 9-12, 2017 in Moscow. The Conference, which continues a biannual tradition started by an innaugural conference in 2015, took place on campus of A.N. Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics, was jointly organized by the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Landau Insitute for Theoretical Physics and Science Center in Chernogolovka.As the name implies, the Conference is a multidisciplinary meeting, with a focus on computational physics and related subjects. Indeed, methods of computational physics prove useful in a broad spectrum of research in multiple branches of natural sciences, and this volume provides a sample.We hope that this volume will interest a wide range of readers, and we are already looking forward for the next conference in this biannual series.Moscow, RussiaNovember, 2017E.A. BurovskiS.A. KrashakovL.N. Shchur

Pop-up concrete constructions: Forming fabric reinforced concrete sheets

New technologies and fabrication tools urge us to explore new materials and their potential for integration in architectural construction. One such material, Concrete Canvas, is explored in this paper for its hybrid characteristics that blend fabric and thin-shell tectonics. The potential of Concrete Canvas lies in its ability to modify itself from a flexible fabric that when activated with water becomes a rigid concrete structure. Combined with a digitally controlled workflow of on-site cutting and an iterative material feedback loop, the process can serve as a radical alternative to current concrete formwork fabrication techniques. This paper outlines a prototypical design process that combines a phase-changing material, physical computer simulations, robotic fabrication and scanning technologies on a feedback loop between the digital and the physical that allow for customized, free-form, on-site concrete structures to pop-up without the need of a complex formwork. In this process the architect sets the various parameters based on fabrication techniques and material properties and adjusts them iteratively in the physical and digital model during the ‘popping-up’ process until a balance between material properties, technical requirements and aesthetics is reached, exploring new potentials on digital fabrication processes. The paper outlines the proposed workflow including iterative experiments with robotic cutting of flat patterns, their ‘popping-up’ into 3D concrete shells, and material phase transitions during its forming process. The established feedback loop consisting of geometry scanning, parametric perforation pattern control, computational analysis and simulation, and robotic fabrication is described in detail. The paper concludes by exploring the potential of this process to enable a dialogue between digital architecture and the process of materialization and discusses the implications of this approach in relation to architectural design and fabrication workflows.

Inquiry-Based Whole-Class Teaching with Computer Simulations in Physics

In this study we investigated the pedagogical context of whole-class teaching with computer simulations. We examined relations between the attitudes and learning goals of teachers and their students regarding the use of simulations in whole-class teaching, and how teachers implement these simulations in their teaching practices. We observed lessons presented by 24 physics teachers in which they used computer simulations. Students completed questionnaires about the lesson, and each teacher was interviewed afterwards. These three data sources captured implementation by the teacher, and the learning goals and attitudes of students and their teachers regarding teaching with computer simulations. For each teacher, we calculated an Inquiry-Cycle-Score (ICS) based on the occurrence and order of the inquiry activities of predicting, observing and explaining during teaching, and a Student-Response-Rate (SRR) reflecting the level of active student participation. Statistical analyses revealed positive correlations between the inquiry-based character of the teaching approach and students’ attitudes regarding its contribution to their motivation and insight, a negative correlation between the SRR and the ICS, and a positive correlation between teachers’ attitudes about inquiry-based teaching with computer simulations and learning goal congruence between the teacher and his/her students. This means that active student participation is likely to be lower when the instruction more closely resembles the inquiry cycle, and that teachers with a positive attitude about inquiry-based teaching with computer simulations realize the importance of learning goal congruence.

Computer simulation in physics

The use of graphic visualization in physics is discussed. The limitations of purely mathematical approach and the intuitive understanding to be gained by a graphic demonstration are discussed. It is suggested that the visualization approach be used in teaching physics, and the use of graphics simulation to understand diffusion and electrical conduction is examined.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>