Related papers: Statistical Mechanics: A Selective Review of Two C…
We study the evolution leading to (or regressing from) a large fluctuation in a Statistical Mechanical system. We introduce and study analytically a simple model of many identically and independently distributed microscopic variables $n_m$…
The Standard Model of the elementary particles is controlled by more than 20 parameters, of which it is not known today how they can be linked to deeper principles. Any attempt to clean up this theory, in general results in producing more…
Biologists have long sought a way to explain how statistical properties of genetic sequences emerged and are maintained through evolution. On the one hand, non-random structures at different scales indicate a complex genome organisation. On…
Descriptions of molecular systems usually refer to two distinct theoretical frameworks. On the one hand the quantum pure state, i.e. the wavefunction, of an isolated system which is determined to calculate molecular properties and to…
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Ludwig Boltzmann explained how irreversible macroscopic laws, in particular the second law of thermodynamics, originate in the time-reversible laws of microscopic physics. Boltzmann's analysis,…
Quantum mechanics for a four-state-system is derived from classical statistics. Entanglement, interference, the difference between identical fermions or bosons and the unitary time evolution find an interpretation within a classical…
Pattern-forming nonequilibrium systems are ubiquitous in nature, from driven quantum matter and biological life forms to atmospheric and interstellar gases. Identifying universal aspects of their far-from-equilibrium dynamics and statistics…
The capabilities of a new approach towards the foundations of Statistical Mechanics are explored. The approach is genuine quantum in the sense that statistical behavior is a consequence of objective quantum uncertainties due to entanglement…
It is notoriously difficult to apply statistical mechanics to generally covariant systems, because the notions of time, energy and equilibrium are seriously modified in this context. We discuss the conditions under which weaker versions of…
Challenges due to the rapid urbanization of the world -- especially in emerging countries -- range from an increasing dependence on energy, to air pollution, socio-spatial inequalities, environmental and sustainability issues. Modelling the…
In this paper we address the problem to give a concrete support to the idea, originally stemming from Niels Bohr, that quantum mechanics must be rooted inside the physics of macroscopic systems. It is shown that, starting from the formalism…
The fundamentals of Statistical Mechanics require a fresh definition in the context of the developments in Classical Mechanics of integrable and chaotic systems. This is done with the introduction of Micro Partitions ; a union of disjoint…
We examine the logical structure of the emergence of classical stochasticity for a quantum system governed by a Pauli-type master equation. It is well-known that while such equations describe the evolution of probabilities, they do not…
Socio-economic inequalities are manifested in different aspects of our social life. We discuss various aspects, beginning with the evolutionary and historical origins, and discussing the major issues from the social and economic point of…
This chapter seeks to outline a few basic problems in quantum statistical physics where recent experimental advances from the atomic physics community offer the hope of dramatic progress. The focus is on nonequilibrium situations where the…
Stochastic Thermodynamics (ST) extends the notions of classical thermodynamics to trajectories taken from a nonequilibrium ensemble. This extension yields a simple approach to fluctuation relations in small systems. Multiple time- and…
We study the formation of coherent structures in a system with long-range interactions where particles moving on a circle interact through a repulsive cosine potential. Non equilibrium structures are shown to correspond to statistical…
The methods of statistical mechanics are applied to two-dimensional foams under macroscopic agitation. A new variable -- the total cell curvature -- is introduced, which plays the role of energy in conventional statistical thermodynamics.…
We study the statistical underpinnings of life. We question some common assumptions about the thermodynamics of life and illustrate how, contrary to widespread belief, even in a closed system entropy growth can accompany an increase in…
The statistical mechanics of Gibbs is a juxtaposition of subjective, probabilistic ideas on the one hand and objective, mechanical ideas on the other. In this paper, we follow the path set out by Jaynes, including elements added…