In May 1955 the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory published the technical report “Studies of nonlinear problems” by E. Fermi, J. Pasta and S. Ulam in which, for the first time, a computer was used to perform an experiment through numerical simulations. The present paper surveys the history of the experiment, its unexpected outcomes, such as the so-called FPU paradox, and the related studies by some of the greatest mathematicians of the time, following them to the most recent results and discoveries.

The Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model: the birth of numerical simulation

DE TULLIO, JACOPO GIUSEPPE
2016

Abstract

In May 1955 the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory published the technical report “Studies of nonlinear problems” by E. Fermi, J. Pasta and S. Ulam in which, for the first time, a computer was used to perform an experiment through numerical simulations. The present paper surveys the history of the experiment, its unexpected outcomes, such as the so-called FPU paradox, and the related studies by some of the greatest mathematicians of the time, following them to the most recent results and discoveries.
2016
2016
DE TULLIO, JACOPO GIUSEPPE
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11565/3989897
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