Related papers: Rigidity and mechanical response in biological str…
Dense suspensions of fine particles are significant in numerous biological, industrial, and natural phenomena. They also provide an ideal tool to develop statistical mechanics description for out-of-equilibrium systems. Predicting the bulk…
In recent years, advanced sensors, intelligent automation, communication networks, and information technologies have been integrated into the electric grid to enhance its performance and efficiency. Integrating these new technologies has…
The complexity of condensed matter arises from emergent behaviors that cannot be understood by analyzing individual constituents in isolation. While traditional condensed-matter approaches-developed primarily for ideal crystalline…
Emergent patterns in complex systems are related to many intriguing phenomena in modern science and philosophy. Several conceptions such as weak, strong and robust emergence have been proposed to emphasize different epistemological and…
In equilibrium, the physical properties of matter are set by the interactions between the constituents. In contrast, the energy input of the individual components controls the behavior of synthetic or living active matter. Great progress…
Elasticity has long been regarded as a property exclusive to material media. Here we uncover its hidden existence in the spin degree of freedom. We introduce spin elasticity-an intrinsic mechanism that governs recoverable deformation of…
To analyze the evolutionary emergence of structural complexity in physical processes we introduce a general, but tractable, model of objects that interact to produce new objects. Since the objects--\emph{$epsilon$-machines}--have well…
Just like power, water and transportation systems, wireless networks are a crucial societal infrastructure. As natural and human-induced disruptions continue to grow, wireless networks must be resilient to unforeseen events, able to…
We study the dynamical response of a circularly-driven rigid body, focusing on the description of intrinsic rotational behavior (reverse rotations). The model system we address is integrable but nontrivial, allowing for qualitative and…
Living organisms intertwine soft (e.g., muscle) and hard (e.g., bones) materials, giving them an intrinsic flexibility and resiliency often lacking in conventional rigid robots. The emerging field of soft robotics seeks to harness these…
Recent developments in machine-learning algorithms have led to impressive performance increases in many traditional application scenarios of artificial intelligence research. In the area of deep reinforcement learning, deep learning…
This short text summarizes the work in biology proposed in our book, Perspectives on Organisms, where we analyse the unity proper to organisms by looking at it from different viewpoints. We discuss the theoretical roles of biological time,…
Cell migration is important in many biological processes, including embryonic development, cancer metastasis, and wound healing. In these tissues, a cell's motion is often strongly constrained by its neighbors, leading to glassy dynamics.…
We study how the rigidity transition in a triangular lattice changes as a function of anisotropy by preferentially filling bonds on the lattice in one direction. We discover that the onset of rigidity in anisotropic spring networks arises…
Plasticity refers to thermodynamically irreversible deformation associated with a change of configuration of materials. Friction is a phenomenological law that describes the forces resisting sliding between two solids or across an embedded…
The concept of evolutionary development of structures constituted a \emph{real} revolution in biology: it was possible to understand how the very complex structures of life can arise in an out-of-equilibrium system. The investigation of…
Robustness to genetic or environmental disturbances is often considered as a key property of living systems. Yet, in spite of being discussed since the 1950s, how robustness emerges from the complexity of genetic architectures and how it…
Frictional motion is harder to initiate than to sustain, as evident when pushing a heavy object. This disparity between static and kinetic friction drives instabilities and stick-slip dynamics in systems ranging from nanodevices and MEMS to…
The random first-order transition (RFOT) theory of the structural glass transition is reviewed in a pedagogical fashion. The rigidity that emerges in crystals and glassy liquids is of the same fundamental origin. In both cases, it…
This work is devoted to a systematic exposition of the dynamics of a rigid body, considered as a system with kinematic constraints. Having accepted the variational problem in accordance with this, we no longer need any additional postulates…