- Email: [email protected]
Nonequilibrium physics: From complex fluids to biological systems. II. Systems with nematic order
Physics Reports 448 (2007) 113 – 114 www.elsevier.com/locate/physrep
Editorial
Nonequilibrium physics: From complex fluids to biological systems. II. Systems with nematic order The present collection of eight review papers is the result of collaborations within a Research Training Network of the 5th Framework Programme of the EU, the PHYNECS project (PHYsics of Non-Equilibrium Complex Systems) that ran from 2002 to 2006. The whole series of Special Issues published in three parts, is a collective tribute to the memory of Lorenz Kramer, a leading and inspiring figure of that project, who passed away in April 4th of 2005. The PHYNECS project was a collective endeavour in interdisciplinary research of different groups in the forefront of nonequilibrium physics, combining expertise in areas of nonlinear physics of extended systems, soft matter, and physics of biological systems. The network integrated seven nodes in six countries. A total of around 100 people have participated to some extent in this project, during the 4 year period of existence, half of them young researchers. The nodes were based at the University of Barcelona (Jaume Casademunt), University of Bayreuth (Lorenz Kramer and Albrecht Ott), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Ágnes Buka) in Budapest, the University of Leiden (Wim van Saarloos), the Institut Curie (Jacques Prost and Jean-François Joanny) in Paris, the Institut Non-Linéaire de Nice (Pierre Coullet), and the Weizmann Institute of Science (Elisha Moses) in Rehovot, Israel. The PHYNECS network had its roots in a history of collaboration of a community in pattern formation in Europe, who initiated joint research and training activities to a large extent within a European Network coordinated by Lorenz Kramer (‘Patterns, Noise and Chaos’, 1996–2001). At that time, their scientific interest started to shift towards biological complexity, as the interface with biology was perceived as the next major frontier in nonequilibrium physics. To some extent the symbolic birth of the PHYNECS network took place in the workshop Pattern Formation at the Turn of the Millenium. Where do we go from here? organized by Pierre Coullet to honour the 60th anniversary of L. Kramer (together with P. Clavin and Y. Pomeau). The scientific success of this network can be attributed to a large extent to personalities such as Lorenz Kramer, who could manage to create a comfortable atmosphere and the personal empathy that is necessary for good science to flourish. The present collection of papers is only a sample of some of the achievements, not necessarily representative of the whole network activities and scientific highlights. We have selected those contributions that fitted best the idea of review papers, that could offer an overview of problems that have attained a certain degree of maturity. Other interesting themes of research that have been born within the network and are in the process of development have not been reflected in this collection. The eight contributions in this collection have been grouped in three parts, published as series of Special Issues in Physics Reports, under the general title of Nonequilibrium Physics: from Complex Fluids to Biological Systems. Part I: Instabilities and Pattern Formation Part II: Systems with Nematic Order Part III: Living Systems Part I contains two reviews in the spirit of more traditional pattern formation, and are mostly theoretical. The first one reviews recent work in the study of spatio-temporal forcing of patterns. The second is a pedagogical essay on hydrodynamic instabilities and the transition to turbulence in visco-elastic polymer flows. Part II contains three review papers with more experimental content, which belong also to the framework of pattern formation and self-organization, but share the specific type of complexity of systems with nematic order. The first is 0370-1573/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2007.05.002
114
Editorial / Physics Reports 448 (2007) 113 – 114
a review of recent developments of electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals, mostly experimental. The second is a theoretical review of light-induced dynamics in nematics. Finally the third is a review of mostly experimental work on self-assembly and self-organization of Langmuir monolayers. Part III contains the reviews with more biological content. The first one is a general presentation of the paradigm of active gels and its applications to a class of biological processes. The second contribution reviews recent pioneering work on cultures of living neural networks. Jaume Casademunt Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Física, Av. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain E-mail address: [email protected]
Editorial
Nonequilibrium physics: From complex fluids to biological systems. II. Systems with nematic order The present collection of eight review papers is the result of collaborations within a Research Training Network of the 5th Framework Programme of the EU, the PHYNECS project (PHYsics of Non-Equilibrium Complex Systems) that ran from 2002 to 2006. The whole series of Special Issues published in three parts, is a collective tribute to the memory of Lorenz Kramer, a leading and inspiring figure of that project, who passed away in April 4th of 2005. The PHYNECS project was a collective endeavour in interdisciplinary research of different groups in the forefront of nonequilibrium physics, combining expertise in areas of nonlinear physics of extended systems, soft matter, and physics of biological systems. The network integrated seven nodes in six countries. A total of around 100 people have participated to some extent in this project, during the 4 year period of existence, half of them young researchers. The nodes were based at the University of Barcelona (Jaume Casademunt), University of Bayreuth (Lorenz Kramer and Albrecht Ott), the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Ágnes Buka) in Budapest, the University of Leiden (Wim van Saarloos), the Institut Curie (Jacques Prost and Jean-François Joanny) in Paris, the Institut Non-Linéaire de Nice (Pierre Coullet), and the Weizmann Institute of Science (Elisha Moses) in Rehovot, Israel. The PHYNECS network had its roots in a history of collaboration of a community in pattern formation in Europe, who initiated joint research and training activities to a large extent within a European Network coordinated by Lorenz Kramer (‘Patterns, Noise and Chaos’, 1996–2001). At that time, their scientific interest started to shift towards biological complexity, as the interface with biology was perceived as the next major frontier in nonequilibrium physics. To some extent the symbolic birth of the PHYNECS network took place in the workshop Pattern Formation at the Turn of the Millenium. Where do we go from here? organized by Pierre Coullet to honour the 60th anniversary of L. Kramer (together with P. Clavin and Y. Pomeau). The scientific success of this network can be attributed to a large extent to personalities such as Lorenz Kramer, who could manage to create a comfortable atmosphere and the personal empathy that is necessary for good science to flourish. The present collection of papers is only a sample of some of the achievements, not necessarily representative of the whole network activities and scientific highlights. We have selected those contributions that fitted best the idea of review papers, that could offer an overview of problems that have attained a certain degree of maturity. Other interesting themes of research that have been born within the network and are in the process of development have not been reflected in this collection. The eight contributions in this collection have been grouped in three parts, published as series of Special Issues in Physics Reports, under the general title of Nonequilibrium Physics: from Complex Fluids to Biological Systems. Part I: Instabilities and Pattern Formation Part II: Systems with Nematic Order Part III: Living Systems Part I contains two reviews in the spirit of more traditional pattern formation, and are mostly theoretical. The first one reviews recent work in the study of spatio-temporal forcing of patterns. The second is a pedagogical essay on hydrodynamic instabilities and the transition to turbulence in visco-elastic polymer flows. Part II contains three review papers with more experimental content, which belong also to the framework of pattern formation and self-organization, but share the specific type of complexity of systems with nematic order. The first is 0370-1573/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2007.05.002
114
Editorial / Physics Reports 448 (2007) 113 – 114
a review of recent developments of electroconvection in nematic liquid crystals, mostly experimental. The second is a theoretical review of light-induced dynamics in nematics. Finally the third is a review of mostly experimental work on self-assembly and self-organization of Langmuir monolayers. Part III contains the reviews with more biological content. The first one is a general presentation of the paradigm of active gels and its applications to a class of biological processes. The second contribution reviews recent pioneering work on cultures of living neural networks. Jaume Casademunt Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Física, Av. Diagonal 647, 08028 Barcelona, Spain E-mail address: [email protected]