This non-traditional introduction to the mathematics of scientific computation describes the principles behind the major methods, from statistics, applied mathematics, scientific visualization, and elsewhere, in a way that is accessible to a large part of the scientific community. Introductory material includes computational basics, a review of coo

This non-traditional introduction to the mathematics of scientific computation describes the principles behind the major methods, from statistics, applied mathematics, scientific visualization, and elsewhere, in a way that is accessible to a large part of the scientific community. Introductory material includes computational basics, a review of coordinate systems, an introduction to facets (planes and triangle meshes) and an introduction to computer graphics. The scientific computing part of the book covers topics in numerical linear algebra (basics, solving linear system, eigen-problems, SVD, and PCA) and numerical calculus (basics, data fitting, dynamic processes, root finding, and multivariate functions). The visualization component of the book is separated into three parts: empirical data, scalar values over 2D data, and volumes.

The goal of visualization is the accurate, interactive, and intuitive presentation of data. Complex numerical simulations, high-resolution imaging devices and incre- ingly common environment-embedded sensors are the primary generators of m- sive data sets. Being able to derive scienti?c insight from data increasingly depends on having mathematical and perceptual models to provide the necessary foundation for effective data analysis and comprehension. The peer-reviewed state-of-the-art research papers included in this book focus on continuous data models, such as is common in medical imaging or computational modeling. From the viewpoint of a visualization scientist, we typically collaborate with an application scientist or engineer who needs to visually explore or study an object which is given by a set of sample points, which originally may or may not have been connected by a mesh. At some point, one generally employs low-order piecewise polynomial approximationsof an object, using one or several dependent functions. In order to have an understanding of a higher-dimensional geometrical “object” or function, ef?cient algorithms supporting real-time analysis and manipulation (- tation, zooming) are needed. Often, the data represents 3D or even time-varying 3D phenomena (such as medical data), and the access to different layers (slices) and structures (the underlying topology) comprising such data is needed.

This book is a practical guide to the numerical solution of linear and nonlinear equations, differential equations, optimization problems, and eigenvalue problems. It treats standard problems and introduces important variants such as sparse systems, differential-algebraic equations, constrained optimization, Monte Carlo simulations, and parametric studies. Stability and error analysis are emphasized, and the Matlab algorithms are grounded in sound principles of software design and understanding of machine arithmetic and memory management. Nineteen case studies provide experience in mathematical modeling and algorithm design, motivated by problems in physics, engineering, epidemiology, chemistry, and biology. The topics included go well beyond the standard first-course syllabus, introducing important problems such as differential-algebraic equations and conic optimization problems, and important solution techniques such as continuation methods. The case studies cover a wide variety of fascinating applications, from modeling the spread of an epidemic to determining truss configurations.

The goal of visualization is the accurate, interactive, and intuitive presentation of data. Complex numerical simulations, high-resolution imaging devices and incre- ingly common environment-embedded sensors are the primary generators of m- sive data sets. Being able to derive scienti?c insight from data increasingly depends on having mathematical and perceptual models to provide the necessary foundation for effective data analysis and comprehension. The peer-reviewed state-of-the-art research papers included in this book focus on continuous data models, such as is common in medical imaging or computational modeling. From the viewpoint of a visualization scientist, we typically collaborate with an application scientist or engineer who needs to visually explore or study an object which is given by a set of sample points, which originally may or may not have been connected by a mesh. At some point, one generally employs low-order piecewise polynomial approximationsof an object, using one or several dependent functions. In order to have an understanding of a higher-dimensional geometrical “object” or function, ef?cient algorithms supporting real-time analysis and manipulation (- tation, zooming) are needed. Often, the data represents 3D or even time-varying 3D phenomena (such as medical data), and the access to different layers (slices) and structures (the underlying topology) comprising such data is needed.

This book differs from traditional numerical analysis texts in that it focuses on the motivation and ideas behind the algorithms presented rather than on detailed analyses of them. It presents a broad overview of methods and software for solving mathematical problems arising in computational modeling and data analysis, including proper problem formulation, selection of effective solution algorithms, and interpretation of results. In the 20 years since its original publication, the modern, fundamental perspective of this book has aged well, and it continues to be used in the classroom. This Classics edition has been updated to include pointers to Python software and the Chebfun package, expansions on barycentric formulation for Lagrange polynomial interpretation and stochastic methods, and the availability of about 100 interactive educational modules that dynamically illustrate the concepts and algorithms in the book. Scientific Computing: An Introductory Survey, Second Edition is intended as both a textbook and a reference for computationally oriented disciplines that need to solve mathematical problems.

The nature of the physical Universe has been increasingly better understood in recent years, and cosmological concepts have undergone a rapid evolution (see, e.g., [11], [2],or [5]). Although there are alternate theories, it is generally believed that the large-scale relationships and homogeneities that we see can only be explainedby having the universe expand suddenlyin a very early “in?ationary” period. Subsequent evolution of the Universe is described by the Hubble expansion, the observation that the galaxies are ?ying away from each other. We can attribute di?erent rates of this expansion to domination of di?erent cosmological processes, beginning with radiation, evolving to matter domination, and, relatively recently, to vacuum domination (the Cosmological Constant term)[4]. We assume throughout that we will be relying as much as possible on observational data, with simulations used only for limited purposes, e.g., the appearance of the Milky Wayfrom nearbyintergalactic viewpoints. The visualization of large-scale astronomical data sets using?xed, non-interactive animations has a long history. Several books and ?lms exist, ranging from “Cosmic View: The Universe in Forty Jumps” [3] by Kees Boeke to “Powers of 10” [6,13] by Charles and Ray Eames, and the recent Imax ?lm “Cosmic Voyage” [15]. We have added our own contribution [9], “Cosmic Clock,” which is an animation based entirely on the concepts and implementation described in this paper.