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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.
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.
Geometric renormalization reveals hidden network symmetries by scaling them down while retaining key features. Extended to weighted networks, in which link intensities matter, here the authors present empirical evidence and theory to justify selecting links with maximum weights across increasingly longer length scales to reduce resolution, enabling self-similar replicas and study of size-dependent phenomena.
Understanding the mechanisms that shape collective swimming of microorganisms is of great interest in biology, ecology and physics. Here the authors show that geometric constraints on the swimmers’ dynamics, such as near a solid surface, significantly alter emergent collective patterns, with relevance to many experimental and biological microswimmer realisations.
The understanding of salty water droplet freezing is limited. The authors examine the formation of brine film on top of frozen salty droplets and discover a new ice crystal growth pattern sprouting from the bottom of the brine film.
The interplay between interactions and disorder can lead to unusual states of matter, which go beyond the notions of equilibrium statistical mechanics. Here the authors provide predictions for the dynamics of such phases, and their phase transitions, when coupled to an environment.
We demonstrate that self-enhanced mobility offers a simple physical mechanism for pattern formation in living systems and, more generally, in other active matter systems near the boundary of fluid- and solid-like behaviours.
With the increase of the use of quantum information in everyday life, its dynamics requires deeper understanding. Here, the quantum fluctuation theorem, that accounts for a quantum system interacting with the environment, is established within the framework of quasi-probability, a powerful tool for studying quantum statistics.
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.
Quasicrystals are ordered but not periodic, which makes them fascinating objects at the interface between order and disorder. Experiments with ultracold atoms zoom in on this interface by driving a quasicrystal and exploring its fractal properties.
Predicting the large-scale behaviour of complex systems is challenging because of their underlying nonlinear dynamics. Theoretical evidence now verifies that many complex systems can be simplified and still provide an insightful description of the phenomena of interest.
Predicting the complex flows that emerge in active fluid networks remains a challenge. A combination of experiments and theory was used to determine the hydraulic laws of active fluids. Analogies with frustrated magnetism and loop models explain the emergent flow patterns that result when active fluids explore pipe networks.
Physical networks, composed of nodes and links that occupy a spatial volume, are hard to study with conventional techniques. A meta-graph approach that elucidates the impact of physicality on network structure has now been introduced.