Statistical Physics and Complex Systems

Group “Statistical Physics and Condensed Matter”

The activities of the “Statistical Physics and Complex Systems” team cover a wide spectrum. The first research direction concerns rigorous statistical mechanics, in particular the study of phase transitions in exactly solvable cases and/or from a geometric perspective. The second direction concerns the statistical physics of open quantum systems (out of equilibrium), and the development of models and analytical tools to study non-equilibrium steady states. The third direction focuses on the statistical physics of complex systems and complex networks, from the study of their structure to the study of dynamical processes on networks, and is pioneering in the study of temporal networks. Since the network paradigm can be used to describe many systems of different origins and natures, our research is interdisciplinary, including interactions with the social sciences, epidemiology, computer science, and neuroscience.

The team also participates in the Convergence Institute CENTURI. Since 2019 it has hosted three PIs partially funded by CENTURI, whose research topics concern collective effects and self-organization in living systems, cell mechanics, and neuroscience. They interact with experimental groups at IBDM and INMED.

The methods used by the team members range from rigorous mathematical tools to numerical simulations and the analysis of empirical data, covering the full range of standard approximation tools in statistical physics.