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Statistical physics and thermodynamics provide a framework for relating the behaviour of microscopic particles to the macroscopic properties of a system. Thermodynamics casts these macroscopic, or observable, properties in terms of variables that are subject to constraints imposed by the four laws of thermodynamics, which can be explained by statistical physics.
Spiral waves of cell density can form and propagate through bacterial biofilms. These waves are formed by a self-organization process that coordinates pulling forces between neighbouring cells.
The nature of turbulence that occurs when fluids flow in a pipe is still controversial. Now the onset of turbulence in pipe flow has been shown to be a directed-percolation phase transition.
Intermittency is the behavior of extreme fluctuations observed in the flow of a fluid that is often associated with high Reynolds numbers. Here, the authors report intermittency in elastic turbulence at the low Reynolds number and high Deborah number limit.
Reconstructing the structure of a complex networked system and predicting its time evolution to understand its functions are usually two subjects that are treated separately. The authors propose a theoretical framework based on information theory, that uncovers the relation between reconstructability and predictability in networked systems.
Spiral waves of cell density can form and propagate through bacterial biofilms. These waves are formed by a self-organization process that coordinates pulling forces between neighbouring cells.
Can many-body systems be beneficial to designing quantum technologies? We address this question by examining quantum engines, where recent studies indicate potential benefits through the harnessing of many-body effects, such as divergences close to phase transitions. However, open questions remain regarding their real-world applications.
During extreme storms, the failure of a small fraction of transmission lines can trigger a cascade of outages in a power grid. Going beyond static approaches, it is now demonstrated that resolving the spatio-temporal interactions between the storm and the power grid is key to identifying these critical lines.
Stable regions in four-dimensional phase space have been observed by following the motion of accelerated proton beams subject to nonlinear forces. This provides insights into the physics of dynamical systems and may lead to improved accelerator designs.
Ageing is a non-linear, irreversible process that defines many properties of glassy materials. Now, it is shown that the so-called material-time formalism can describe ageing in terms of equilibrium-like properties.