This award supports the participation of American scientists in a U.S.-Japan joint workshop for scientists on simulations of complex behavior from simple models to be held in Kannapali, Hawaii from June 26-29, 2005. The co-organizers are Professor David Landau at the University of Georgia in Athens and Professor Yutaka Okabe at the Tokyo Metropolitan University in Japan. Computer simulations in statistical physics have resulted in impressive gains in knowledge in diverse areas of physics. With the advent of parallel computing platforms, it has become possible to simulate quite large systems and we can now seriously consider ways to span many orders of magnitude in length scale by using complementary algorithms. There are many problems in physics where the model of interest is not very complicated but the resultant behavior is extremely complex and progress demands extraordinary measures. Questions still remain about whether or not certain models even have phase transitions to ordered states. Therefore, the goal of the workshop is to focus on understanding the problems with long time scales and complex structures which occur in diverse systems and to examine ways of overcoming these difficulties. The topics of interest range from the determination of critical exponents in different spin models to the nature of phase transitions in complex systems, such as glasses, and the description of groundstates in complex systems such as spin glasses and folded protein models. There will also be emphasis on development of algorithms for both classical and quantum models to deal with the long time scales including those which occur for nucleation at very low temperatures.
The co-organizers have complementary scientific expertise in the field. This enables them to evaluate and attract the best science researchers to participate. Devising effective strategies that would make computer simulation of these physical systems practical could lead to significant advances in our study of protein folding, glasses, growth, and various mathematical models that have presented a challenge over the years. There is also a high probability of stimulating the development of new algorithms and stimulating new science. The workshop organizers have made a special effort to involve postdocs, graduate students and underrepresented groups as both participants and observers. The exchange of ideas and data with Japanese experts in the field will enable U.S. participants to advance their own work, and will set the stage for future collaborative projects. Following the seminar the organizers plan to establish a workshop web page. Conference proceedings will be published on this web site.
