Which order should I read these in?

[Jarvis323]

I'm a computer scientist with aspirations to apply myself to fundamental research, data analysis, or computation, in physics; And these are the books I've purchased so far but haven't read.

Which order do you think I should read these? Or more generally, how should I schedule the reading of these books? Assume that I have an undergraduate level understanding of differential equations, analysis, probability, and statistics.

Is there anything missing, or excessively redundant? How about difficulty/time investment, any idea what I am getting myself into? Thanks for any advice.

a) Computational Methods in Plasma Physics, S. Jardin
b) Modern Plasma Physics, P. Diamond, S. Itoah, and K. Itoah
c) Computational Many Particle Physics (Lecture Notes in Physics), H. Fehske, R. Schneider, A. WeiBe
d) Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, F. Chen
e) Introduction to Electrodynamics, D. Griffiths
f) Fluid Mechanics, R. Granger
g) An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics, H. Versteeg, W. Malalasekera
h) A Students Guide to Maxwells Equations, D. Fleisch
i) Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, S. Groat, P. Mazur
j) An Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics, T. Hill
k) Understanding Thermodynamics, H. Ness
l) Theoretical Physics, G. Joos
m) Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics, I. Prigogine
n) Elementary Statistical Physics, C. Kitten
m) Elementary Statistical Mechanics, J. Gibbs
o) Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics, F. Byron, R. Fuller
p) Discrete-Time Signal Processing, A. Oppenheim, R. Shafer
q) Fundamentals of Mathematical Physics, E. Kraut
r) A First Look at Perturbation Theory, J. Simmonds, J. Mann
s) Asymptotic Methods in Analysis, N. Bruijn
t) Visual Complex Analysis, T. Needham
u) Introduction to Topological Manifolds, J. Lee
v) An Introduction to Tensors and Groupe Theory, N. Jeevanjee
w) The Geometry of Physics, T. Frankel

 

[Wrichik Basu]

That's a huge quantity of books on varied topics. It would be difficult to propose a sequence for such a list. Some of my opinions:

1. First study the Group theory book, because it has wide applications in various fields, especially quantum mechanics.

2. ‎Next, take up one book on any topic, and read it thoroughly. You can keep fluid mechanics and plasma physics for a later time, because you're necessarily aiming for computational physics. So, study the analysis books first. You can study the other books in any order, but be sure not to take up too many books at the same time, otherwise you'll be lost.

3. ‎Keep taking down short notes in a separate notebook, mentioning the name of the book. This will help you to refer to the topics later.

4. ‎Do not study same topics from different books, because that will result in a waste of time. At the beginning, you can study two chapters simultaneously from two books, and choose the book that's best suited for you. Use other books on the same topic as reference books. Don't keep on doing the same topic again and again, because that'll again lead to waste of time. After practicing problems from two books, move on to another topic.

5. ‎You may take up two books on two different topics later on, because reading the same topic may become monotonous. But be sure to take down notes for revision later.

 

[Daverz]

The DSP book (p) is probably the most immediately useful.

 

[Demystifier]

Since you don't know what exactly are you interested in, I would suggest you to start with Joos - Theoretical Physics, because this book has a very wide scope and covers many different topics. After that, you might have a better idea of what do you want to study in more detail.

 

[TeethWhitener]

Byron and Fuller (o) has a special place in my heart. It's about the level of advanced undergrad/beginning grad school, and very applications-driven.

 

[Buffu]

So many books ; how much did it cost ?

If I were you then I would have read yellow book about Topology.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

So many books ; how much did it cost ?

Perhaps the OP has won a scholarship

 

[vanhees71]

I'm a computer scientist with aspirations to apply myself to fundamental research, data analysis, or computation, in physics; And these are the books I've purchased so far but haven't read.

View attachment 218684

Which order do you think I should read these? Or more generally, how should I schedule the reading of these books? Assume that I have an undergraduate level understanding of differential equations, analysis, probability, and statistics.

Is there anything missing, or excessively redundant? How about difficulty/time investment, any idea what I am getting myself into? Thanks for any advice.

a) Computational Methods in Plasma Physics, S. Jardin
b) Modern Plasma Physics, P. Diamond, S. Itoah, and K. Itoah
c) Computational Many Particle Physics (Lecture Notes in Physics), H. Fehske, R. Schneider, A. WeiBe
d) Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, F. Chen
e) Introduction to Electrodynamics, D. Griffiths
f) Fluid Mechanics, R. Granger
g) An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics, H. Versteeg, W. Malalasekera
h) A Students Guide to Maxwells Equations, D. Fleisch
i) Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, S. Groat, P. Mazur
j) An Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics, T. Hill
k) Understanding Thermodynamics, H. Ness
l) Theoretical Physics, G. Joos
m) Non-Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics, I. Prigogine
n) Elementary Statistical Physics, C. Kitten
m) Elementary Statistical Mechanics, J. Gibbs
o) Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics, F. Byron, R. Fuller
p) Discrete-Time Signal Processing, A. Oppenheim, R. Shafer
q) Fundamentals of Mathematical Physics, E. Kraut
r) A First Look at Perturbation Theory, J. Simmonds, J. Mann
s) Asymptotic Methods in Analysis, N. Bruijn
t) Visual Complex Analysis, T. Needham
u) Introduction to Topological Manifolds, J. Lee
v) An Introduction to Tensors and Groupe Theory, N. Jeevanjee
w) The Geometry of Physics, T. Frankel

It's much better to read one or two really good books on a subject and really work through them for yourself. The right way to study physics or math books is with pencil and paper and much own thought rather than reading 1000s of pages without thinking!

 

[jasonRF]

I'm a computer scientist with aspirations to apply myself to fundamental research, data analysis, or computation, in physics;

I'm still unclear on what your objectives are. Are you trying to get hired to do this, or is this a hobby? If it is a hobby, then do whatever sounds like the most fun. You have many years of reading ahead of you!

If you are looking for a job, what kind of position are you hoping to find, and what are the typical qualifications of folks that are hired for those positions? I suspect that any physics related job you have a good chance of getting would be leveraging the computer science skills that you have demonstrated from your academic background, work history, or other activities. Otherwise they would hire a physicist to do the job. Even if you spent the many years it would take to work through all those books, you might not be any closer to a paid position.

Jason

 

[Jarvis323]

So many books ; how much did it cost ?

If I were you then I would have read yellow book about Topology.

Actually it wasn't too expensive. Well, some of them were, but these are mostly older books that aren't being squeezed for profit by the publishers at this point. The Dover books for example were on average about $10.

 

[jasonRF]

these are mostly older books that aren't being squeezed for profit by the publishers at this point.

That is true. Not too long ago I purchased a near-perfect copy of the 3rd edition of Papoulis (in your picture, but not your list?) for < $10 with shipping. I already had a copy I had bought for a class over 20 years ago, but have used it so much that it is falling apart.

 

[Buffu]

Actually it wasn't too expensive. Well, some of them were, but these are mostly older books that aren't being squeezed for profit by the publishers at this point. The Dover books for example were on average about $10.

So which book will you be reading ?

 

[Jarvis323]

So which book will you be reading ?

It's so hard to choose. Maybe I will try to work my way through some of the mathematics books to start, probably tensors and group theory first, then topology and then complex analysis. I think I can use "The Geometry of Physics" as more of a reference as I read the physics books when I want to deepen my understanding of a topic. Perturbation theory and asymptotics look potentially useful and not overwhelming so I'll try to fit those in somewhere. At the same time, I want to skim through the others to try and see how it all fits together.

For the physics books I might start with Elementary Statistical Mechanics, and Understanding Thermodynamics. The DSP book does seam very useful, but it's also 800 pages. I might try to skim through it and then use it as a reference for now if needed.