D. Heidrich - Böcker

Parallel processing is seen today as the means to improve the power of computing facilities by breaking the Von Neumann bottleneck of conventional sequential computer architectures. By defining appropriate parallel computation models definite advantages can be obtained. Parallel processing is the center of the research in Europe in the field of Information Processing Systems so the CEC has funded the ESPRIT Supemode project to develop a low cost, high performance, multiprocessor machine. The result of this project is a modular, reconfigurable architecture based on !NMOS transputers: T.Node. This machine can be considered as a research, industrial and commercial success. The CEC has decided to continue to encourage manufacturers as well as research and end-users of transputers by funding other projects in this field. This book presents course papers of the Eurocourse given at the Joint Research Centre in ISPRA (Italy) from the 4th to 8 of November 1991. First we present an overview of various trends in the design of parallel architectures and specially of the T.Node with it's software development environments, new distributed system aspects and also new hardware extensions based on the !NMOS T9000 processor. In a second part, we review some real case applications in the field of image synthesis, image processing, signal processing, terrain modeling, particle physics simulation and also enhanced parallel and distributed numerical methods on T.Node.

The reaction pathway (RP) technique is a powerful tool in theoretical chemistry and chemical reaction theory. The present book discusses the background of the concept, both mathematical and physical, and outlines new developments. Different approaches to the RP are described, with particular emphasis on gradient extremals and the treatment of zero eigenvalues of rotation in the Cartesian Hessian matrix along the RP. There is also a review of geometric optimization methods, together with an outline of density functional theory. Some contributions reveal the progress made in interface dynamics calculations based on RP potentials and tunnelling with electronic structure theory ("direct dynamics"). The study also includes the latest results in excited-state RP calculations (H transfer) and a theoretical view of the RPs of photodissociation processes using time-resolved femtosecond spectroscopy. The passage from the RP to the reaction mechanism is described by means of fundamental groups and symmetry rules.

The reaction pathway (RP) technique is a powerful tool in theoretical chemistry and chemical reaction theory. The present book discusses the background of the concept, both mathematical and physical, and outlines new developments. Different approaches to the RP are described, with particular emphasis on gradient extremals and the treatment of zero eigenvalues of rotation in the Cartesian Hessian matrix along the RP. There is an excellent review of geometric optimization methods, together with an outline of density functional theory. Some contributions reveal the progress made in interface dynamics calculations based on RP potentials and tunnelling with electronic structure theory ('direct dynamics'). Includes the very latest results in excited-state RP calculations (H transfer) and a theoretical view of the RPs of photodissociation processes using time-resolved femtosecond spectroscopy. The passage from the RP to the reaction mechanism is described by means of fundamental groups and symmetry rules. Audience: Researchers in theoretical chemistry, molecular modeling, physical chemistry, kinetics, and the biosciences.