Departments and Independent Research Groups
The research conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organisation covers a broad spectrum, mainly in the physics of complex systems. Recently, the physics of complex systems has become a topic of increasing interest and includes open systems, which are characterized by dissipation of energy and entropy production. Pattern forming systems are particularly interesting, and the understanding of the general features are the topic of current research. Hydrodynamic turbulence is another example and continues to be one of the unsolved problems of the 21st century. These systems are mostly deterministic, and the influence of thermal fluctuations can be neglected. However, this does not include living nature. Biological systems have active components (genetic networks, protein networks, molecular motors, neurons), which consist of discrete units (i. e. cells) and require the consideration of stochastic processes (thermal noise). Moreover, for the molecular transport and fluid dynamics on scales smaller than micrometres the molecular structure of the fluid may become important. This is especially true for complex fluids, whose properties are determined by mesoscale Coulomb interactions and the presence of large molecules.
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