Introduction to the dynamics of disordered systems: Equilibrium and gradient descent

in Physica A. Statistical Mechanics and its Applications (in press)

This paper contains the lecture notes of the short courses given by one of us (F.Z.) at the summer school Fundamental Problems in Statistical Physics XV, held in Brunico, Italy, in July 2021, and, just ... [more ▼]

This paper contains the lecture notes of the short courses given by one of us (F.Z.) at the summer school Fundamental Problems in Statistical Physics XV, held in Brunico, Italy, in July 2021, and, just before that, at the summer school Glassy Systems and Inter-Disciplinary Applications, held in Cargese, France, in June 2021. The course was a short introductory overview of the dynamics of disordered systems, focused in particular on the equilibrium dynamics (with the associated glass transition), and on the simplest case of off-equilibrium dynamics, namely gradient descent. A few selected topics (and references) are chosen, based on the authors’ own taste and competences, and on pedagogical reasons, without aiming at a complete review of the subject. [less ▲]

The statistical physics of active matter: From self-catalytic colloids to living cells

in Physica A. Statistical Mechanics and its Applications (2018), 504(SI), 106-120

These lecture notes are designed to provide a brief introduction into the phenomenology of active matter and to present some of the analytical tools used to rationalize the emergent behavior of active ... [more ▼]

These lecture notes are designed to provide a brief introduction into the phenomenology of active matter and to present some of the analytical tools used to rationalize the emergent behavior of active systems. Such systems are made of interacting agents able to extract energy stored in the environment to produce sustained directed motion. The local conversion of energy into mechanical work drives the system far from equilibrium, yielding new dynamics and phases. The emerging phenomena can be classified depending on the symmetry of the active particles and on the type of microscopic interactions. We focus here on steric and aligning interactions, as well as interactions driven by shape changes. The models that we present are all inspired by experimental realizations of either synthetic, biomimetic or living systems. Based on minimal ingredients, they are meant to bring a simple and synthetic understanding of the complex phenomenology of active matter. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Ensemble and trajectory thermodynamics: A brief introduction

in Physica A. Statistical Mechanics and its Applications (2015), 418

We revisit stochastic thermodynamics for a system with discrete energy states in contact with a heat and particle reservoir. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The generation of respiratory rhythms in birds

in Physica A. Statistical Mechanics and its Applications (2006), 371(1), 84-87

The generation of precise respiratory rhythms is vital for birds, which must generate specific pressure patterns to perform several activities, song being one of the most demanding ones. These rhythms ... [more ▼]

The generation of precise respiratory rhythms is vital for birds, which must generate specific pressure patterns to perform several activities, song being one of the most demanding ones. These rhythms emerge as the interaction between a peripheral system and a set of neural nuclei which control the action of expiratory and inspiratory muscles. A computational model was proposed recently to account for this interaction. In this work, we describe the set of solutions that this model can display as its parameters are varied, and compare experimental records of air sac pressure patterns with the predictions of the model. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲]