Statistical physics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The K-satisfability problem is a combinatorial discrete optimization problem, which for K=3 is NP-complete, and whose random formulation is of interest for understanding computational complexity. Here, the authors introduce the backtracking survey propagation algorithm for studying it for K=3 and K=4.

    • Raffaele Marino
    • , Giorgio Parisi
    •  & Federico Ricci-Tersenghi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many human mobility studies have shown empirically long-tailed distance distributions, which are usually associated to Lévy flights. Here, the authors show that the behavior of private vehicles could be misinterpreted as Lévy flights but is fully captured by a class of accelerated random walks.

    • Riccardo Gallotti
    • , Armando Bazzani
    •  & Marc Barthelemy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gibbs' phase rule states that the maximum number of coexisting phases in a one-component system, and in absence of external fields, is three. Here, the authors show that directly controlling the Hamiltonian allows the extension of this rule to four phases.

    • Kenji Akahane
    • , John Russo
    •  & Hajime Tanaka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The discovery that the entropy of black holes is given by their horizon area inspired the holographic principle and led to gauge-gravity duality. Here, the author shows that all Rényi entropies satisfy a similar area law in holographic theories and are given by the areas of dual cosmic branes.

    • Xi Dong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strings or long chains are prone to knotting. Here, the authors demonstrate that the vortex structure of quantum wavefunctions, such as that in a simple harmonic oscillator, can also contain knots, whose topological complexity can be a descriptor of the spatial order of the system.

    • Alexander J. Taylor
    •  & Mark R. Dennis

  • Article |

    In statistical physics, the observable macroscopic behaviour of a system is obtained from a microscopic model of its components. Here, the authors extend this approach to systems with no known microscopic dynamics, by looking at the system’s response to external perturbations.

    • Baruch Barzel
    • , Yang-Yu Liu
    •  & Albert-László Barabási

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The work fluctuations of systems driven out of equilibrium are governed by the same large-deviation theory as wavefunction amplitudes close to the Anderson localization transition. Exploiting this analogy, the authors generalize the Jarzynski equality, verifying their relation on a single-electron box.

    • I.M. Khaymovich
    • , J.V. Koski
    •  & J.P. Pekola

  • Article |

    Random walks are standard tools for modelling dynamics in networks but usually neglect the possibility that the next step may depend on the previous ones. Rosvall et al. study the paths taken in various systems and show that memory effects play an important role and can uncover informative organization.

    • Martin Rosvall
    • , Alcides V. Esquivel
    •  & Renaud Lambiotte

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