ABSTRACT: I review the so-called ``sign problem" that afflicts many physical theories of interest. After reviewing some of the most promising possible solutions to the sign problem that physicists have developed over the past decade, I introduce a new solution, the Conjugate Gradient Algorithm (CGA). I compare the strengths and weaknesses of this new method against the strengths and weaknesses of existing methods and conclude that the Conjugate Gradient Algorithm is the most promising solution to the sign problem posed yet. I finish by demonstrating some of the more interesting results obtained with the new algorithm. (94 words)
READER'S PROFILE: I imagine a reader who has spent most of her or his time this past decade on one of the algorithms that I am claiming is not as good as the CGA. I imagine this reader is quite skeptical.
READER'S RESPONSE: My algorithm is the best algorithm available for the sign problem. Either this guy is mistaken, or does not realize that his method is secretly equivalent to mine. How is this algorithm any different than the Metropolis on Thimbles algorithm? If he went in to more detail about where they differ, then maybe I would see what this new algorithm adds to the literature.
(I will have to provide really good plots to convince this person).
READER'S PROFILE: I imagine a reader who has spent most of her or his time this past decade on one of the algorithms that I am claiming is not as good as the CGA. I imagine this reader is quite skeptical.
READER'S RESPONSE: My algorithm is the best algorithm available for the sign problem. Either this guy is mistaken, or does not realize that his method is secretly equivalent to mine. How is this algorithm any different than the Metropolis on Thimbles algorithm? If he went in to more detail about where they differ, then maybe I would see what this new algorithm adds to the literature.
(I will have to provide really good plots to convince this person).