Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed-Matter Physics XIV

Book excerpt: Over the last 30 years, Professor David P. Landau's trailblazing research achievements and influential leadership have helped establish computer sim ulation as a powerful and incisive mode of scientific investigation, now on a par in the physical sciences with experimental and theoretical research. This year, we were very pleased to organize a special one-day symposium honor ing the 60th birthday of our distinguished colleague and friend. This event was held in conjunction with and immediately following the annual computer simulations workshop that Professor Landau founded 14 years ago. Many of the papers presented at this honorary symposium are integrated into this pro ceedings volume, and the accompanying photograph of participants serves to commemorate this very special event. This volume contains both invited papers and contributed presentations on problems in both classical and quantum condensed matter physics. We hope that each reader will benefit from specialized results as well as profit from exposure to new algorithms, methods of analysis, and conceptual devel opments.