1. Edition - November 2001
175.- Euro
2001. X, 372 Pages, Hardcover
195 Fig., 5 Tab. 
- Handbook/Reference Book -
ISBN-10: 3-527-40307-8
ISBN-13: 978-3-527-40307-3 - Wiley-VCH, Berlin








Short description
The past few years have witnessed a substantial growth in the number of applications for optimization algorithms in solving physical problems. This book provides both an introduction to the field, and a complete overview of modern algorithms. The authors begin with the relevant foundations from computer science, graph theory and statistical physics, before moving on to thoroughly explain algorithms, backed by illustrative examples. They include pertinent mathematical transformations, which in turn are used to make the physical problems tractable with methods from combinatorial optimization - illustrated throughout by interesting results. The final chapter offers numerous practical hints on software development, testing programs, and evaluating the results of computer experiments.

From the contents
Introduction to Optimization
Complexity Theory
Graphs
Simple Graph Algorithms
Introduction to Statistical Physics
Maximum-Flow Methods
Minimum-Cost Flow Problems
Genetic Algorithms
Monte-Carlo Methods
Approximation Methods for Spin Glasses
Matching Algorithms
Branch-and-Bound Methods
Practical Issues