Recent Developments in Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics

Preface Thirty two years ago, because of the dramatic increase in the power and utility of computer simulations, The University of Georgia formed the first institutional unit devoted to the application of simulations in research and teaching: The Center for Simulational Physics. Then, as the international simulations community expanded further, we sensed the need for a meeting place for both experienced simulators and newcomers to discuss inventive algorithms and recent results in an environment that promoted lively discussion. As a consequence, the Center for Simulational Physics established an annual workshop series on Recent Developments in Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics. This year’s highly interactive workshop was the 31 st in the series marking our efforts to promote high quality research in simulational physics. The continued interest shown by the scientific community amply demonstrates the useful purpose that these meetings have served. The latest workshop was held at The University of Georgia from February 19-23, 2018. These Proceedings provide a “status report” on a number of important topics. This on-line “volume” is published with the goal of timely dissemination of the material to a wider audience. These Proceedings contain both invited papers and contributed presentations on problems in both classical and quantum condensed matter physics. The Workshop topics, as usual. ranged from hard and soft condensed matter to biologically inspired problems and purely methodological advances. While familiar topics like phase transitions were still on display, the trends in biophysics, dynamical behavior and complex systems demonstrated the continuing progression in the focus of computational condensed matter physics. We hope that readers will benefit from specialized results as well as profit from exposure to new algorithms, methods of analysis, and conceptual developments. Athens, GA, U.S.A. May, 2018 D. P. Landau M. Bachmann S. P. Lewis H.-B. Schüttler