This book uses new ideas and language for understanding how self-organization and complexity trend toward increased efficiency. Different measures for efficiency from multiple disciplines are used to probe the ones that provide the most insight. One major goal is to seek a common framework to trace the increase of efficiency as a measure of the level of organization and evolutionary stage of a complex system. The chapters come from a satellite meeting hosted at the Conference on Complex Systems, in Cancun, 2017. The contributions will be peer-reviewed and contributors from outside the conference will be invited to submit chapters to ensure full coverage of the topics. This text will appeal to students and researchers working on complex systems and efficiency.

The aim of this volume of scientific essays is twofold. On the one hand, by remembering the scientific figure of Eduardo R. Caianiello, it aims at focusing on his outstanding contributions - from theoretical physics to cybernetics - which after so many years still represent occasion of innovative paths to be fruitfully followed. It must be stressed the contribution that his interdisciplinary methodology can still be of great help in affording and solving present day complex problems. On the other hand, it aims at pinpointing with the help of the scientists contributing to the volume - some crucial problems in present day research in the fields of interest of Eduardo Caianiello and which are still among the main lines of investigation of some of the Institutes founded by Eduardo (Istituto di Cibernetica del CNR, IIAS, etc).

This book collects contributions to the XXIII international conference "Nonlinear dynamics of electronic systems". Topics range from non-linearity in electronic circuits to synchronisation effects in complex networks to biological systems, neural dynamics and the complex organisation of the brain. Resting on a solid mathematical basis, these investigations address highly interdisciplinary problems in physics, engineering, biology and biochemistry.

Complexity Science and Chaos Theory are fascinating areas of scientific research with wide-ranging applications. The interdisciplinary nature and ubiquity of complexity and chaos are features that provides scientists with a motivation to pursue general theoretical tools and frameworks. Complex systems give rise to emergent behaviors, which in turn produce novel and interesting phenomena in science, engineering, as well as in the socio-economic sciences.
The aim of all Symposia on Chaos and Complex Systems (CCS) is to bring together scientists, engineers, economists and social scientists, and to discuss the latest insights and results obtained in the area of corresponding nonlinear-system complex (chaotic) behavior.
Especially for the 4th International Interdisciplinary Chaos Symposium on Chaos and Complex Systems, which took place April 29th to May 2nd, 2012 in Antalya, Turkey, the scope of the symposium had been further enlarged so as to encompass the presentation of work from circuits to econophysics, and from nonlinear analysis to the history of chaos theory.
The corresponding proceedings collected in this volume address a broad spectrum of contemporary topics, including but not limited to networks, circuits, systems, biology, evolution and ecology, nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation, as well as neural, psychological, psycho-social, socio-economic, management complexity and global systems.
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This thesis presents several significant new results that shed light on two major puzzles of modern cosmology: the nature of inflation, the very early phase of the universe that is thought to have given rise to the large-scale structures that we observe today; and that of the current accelerated expansion. In particular, it develops a clean method for characterizing linear cosmological perturbations for general theories where gravity is modified and/or affected by a new component, called dark energy, responsible for the accelerated expansion. It proposes a new extension to what were long thought to be the most general scalar field theories devoid of instabilities, and demonstrates the robustness of the relation between the energy scale of inflation and the predicted amplitude of gravitational waves. Finally, it consolidates a set of consistency relations between correlation functions of the cosmological density field and investigates the phenomenological consequences of their potential violation. Presented in a clear, succinct and rigorous style, each of these original results is both profound and important and will leave a deep mark on the field.

Written in the 1980s by one of the fathers of chaos theory, Otto E. Roessler, the manuscript presented in this volume eventually never got published. Almost 40 years later, it remains astonishingly at the forefront of knowledge about chaos theory and many of the examples discussed have never been published elsewhere. The manuscript has now been edited by Christophe Letellier - involved in chaos theory for almost three decades himself, as well as being active in the history of sciences - with a minimum of changes to the original text. Finally released for the benefit of specialists and non-specialists alike, this book is equally interesting from the historical and the scientific points of view: an unconventionally modern approach to chaos theory, it can be read as a classic introduction and short monograph as well as a collection of original insights into advanced topics from this field.

This book is designed as a practical and intuitive introduction to probability, statistics and random quantities for physicists. The book aims at getting to the main points by a clear, hands-on exposition supported by well-illustrated and worked-out examples. A strong focus on applications in physics and other natural sciences is maintained throughout. In addition to basic concepts of random variables, distributions, expected values and statistics, the book discusses the notions of entropy, Markov processes, and fundamentals of random number generation and Monte-Carlo methods.

During the last decade, various powerful experimental tools have been developed, such as small angle X-ray and neutron scattering, X-ray and neutron reflection from interfaces, neutron spin-echo spectroscopy and quasi-elastic multiple light scattering and large scale computer simulations. Due to the rapid progress brought about by these techniques, one witnesses a resurgence of interest in the physicochemical properties of colloids, surfactants and macromolecules in solution. Although these disciplines have a long history, they are at present rapidly transforming into a new, interdisciplinary research area generally known as complex liquids or soft condensed matter physics: names that reflect the considerable involvement of the chemical and condensed matter physicists. This book is based on lectures given at a NATO ASI held in the summer of 1991 and discusses these new developments, both in theory and experiment. It constitutes the most up-to-date and comprehensive summary of the entire field.

This book explores recent developments in theoretical research and mathematical modelling of real-world complex systems, organized in four parts. The first part of the book is devoted to the mathematical tools for the design and analysis in engineering and social science study cases. We discuss the periodic evolutions in nonlinear chemical processes, vibro-compact systems and their behaviour, different types of metal-semiconductor self-assembled samples, made of silver nanowires and zinc oxide nanorods. The second part of the book is devoted to mathematical description and modelling of the critical events, climate change and robust emergency scales. In three chapters, we consider a climate-economy model with endogenous carbon intensity and the behaviour of Tehran Stock Exchange market under international sanctions. The third part of the book is devoted to fractional dynamic and fractional control problems. We discuss the novel operational matrix technique for variable-order fractional optimal control problems, the nonlinear variable-order time fractional convection-diffusion equation with generalized polynomials The fourth part of the book concerns solvability and inverse problems in differential and integro-differential equations. The book facilitates a better understanding of the mechanisms and phenomena in nonlinear dynamics and develops the corresponding mathematical theory to apply nonlinear design to practical engineering. It can be read by mathematicians, physicists, complex systems scientists, IT specialists, civil engineers, data scientists and urban planners.

This book describes a comprehensive approach to applying systems science formally to the deep analysis of a wide variety of complex systems. Detailed 'how-to' examples of the three phases (analysis-modeling-design) of systems science are applied to systems of various types (machines, organic (e.g. ecosystem), and supra-organic (e.g. business organizations and government). The complexity of the global system has reached proportions that seriously challenge our abilities to understand the consequences of our use of technology, modification of natural ecosystems, or even how to govern ourselves. For this reason, complex mathematics is eschewed when simpler structures will suffice, allowing the widest possible audience to apply and benefit from the available tools and concepts of systems science in their own work. The book shows, in detail, how to functionally and structurally deconstruct complex systems using a fundamental language of systems. It shows how to capture the discovered details in a structured knowledge base from which abstract models can be derived for simulation. The knowledge base is also shown to be a basis for generating system design specifications for human-built artifacts, or policy recommendations/policy mechanisms for socio-economic-ecological systems management. The book builds on principles and methods found in the authors' textbook Principles of Systems Science (co-authored with Michael Kalton), but without prerequisites. It will appeal to a broad audience that deals with complex systems every day, from design engineers to economic and ecological systems managers and policymakers.

This book systematically presents the most recent progress in stability and control of impulsive systems with delays. Impulsive systems have recently attracted continued high research interests because they provide a natural framework for mathematical modeling of many real-world processes. It focuses not only on impulsive delayed systems, but also impulsive systems with delayed impulses and impulsive systems with event-triggered mechanism, including their Lyapunov stability, finite-time stability and input-to-state stability synthesis. Special attention is paid to the bilateral effects of the delayed impulses, where comprehensive stability properties are discussed in the framework of time-dependent and state-dependent delays. New original work with event-triggered impulsive control and its applications in multi-agent systems and collective dynamics are also provided. This book will be of use to specialists who are interested in the theory of impulsive differential equations and impulsive control theory, as well as high technology specialists who work in the fields of complex networks and applied mathematics. Also, instructors teaching graduate courses and graduate students will find this book a valuable source of nonlinear system theory.

Vortex flow is one of the fundamental types of fluid and gas motion. These flows are the most spectacular in the form of concentrated vortices, characterized by the localization of vorticity (curl of velocity) in bounded regions of a space, beyond which the vorticity is either absent or rapidly falls down to zero. Concentrated vortices are often observed in nature, exemplified by atmospheric cyclones, whirlwinds and tornados, oceanic vortices, whirlpools on a water s- face, and ring vortices caused by explosive outburst of volcanoes. In technical - vices concentrated vortices form when flow separates from sharp edges of flying vehicles and ships. Among these are vortices flowing off the ends of airplane wings, and intentionally generated vortices for intensification of burning in c- bustion chambers, vortices in cyclonic devices used for mixing or separation of impurities in fluids and gases. One such remarkable and frequent type of conc- trated vortices is a vortex ring which constitutes a vortex tube closed into a t- oidal ring moving in a surrounding fluid like an isolated body out of contact with solid boundaries of the flow region if such boundaries exist. Formation and motion of vortex rings are important part of the dynamics of a continuum medium and have been studied for more than a century.

This book addresses the COVID-19 pandemic from a quantitative perspective based on mathematical models and methods largely used in nonlinear physics. It aims to study COVID-19 epidemics in countries and SARS-CoV-2 infections in individuals from the nonlinear physics perspective and to model explicitly COVID-19 data observed in countries and virus load data observed in COVID-19 patients. The first part of this book provides a short technical introduction into amplitude spaces given by eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and amplitudes.In the second part of the book, mathematical models of epidemiology are introduced such as the SIR and SEIR models and applied to describe COVID-19 epidemics in various countries around the world. In the third part of the book, virus dynamics models are considered and applied to infections in COVID-19 patients. This book is written for researchers, modellers, and graduate students in physics and medicine, epidemiology and virology, biology, applied mathematics, and computer sciences. This book identifies the relevant mechanisms behind past COVID-19 outbreaks and in doing so can help efforts to stop future COVID-19 outbreaks and other epidemic outbreaks. Likewise, this book points out the physics underlying SARS-CoV-2 infections in patients and in doing so supports a physics perspective to address human immune reactions to SARS-CoV-2 infections and similar virus infections.

This book is a compilation of scientific articles written by recognized researchers, and select students, participating in the Second Conference on the Study of Complex Systems and their Applications (EDIESCA 2021). EDIESCA 2021 arose from the need for academic and research groups that carry out this scientific research to disseminate their results internationally. The study and characterization of systems with non-linear and/or chaotic behavior has been of great interest to researchers around the world, for which many important results have been obtained with various applications. The dynamic study of chaotic oscillators of different models, such as Roessler, Lorenz, and Chua, has generated important advances in understanding of chemical reactions, meteorological behavior, design of electronic devices, and other applications. Topics at the event included applications for communications systems by masking techniques, financial behavior, networks analysis, nonlinear lasers, numerical modeling, electronic design, and other interesting topics in the area of complex systems. Additionally, there are results on numerical simulation and electronic designs to generate complex dynamic behaviors.

Resilience Engineering (RE) studies have successfully identified and described many instances of resilient performance in high hazard sectors as well as in the far more frequent cases where people and organisations cope with the uncertainties of daily operations. Since RE was first described in 2006, a steady accumulation of insights and efforts have provided the basis for practical tools and methods. This development has been documented by a series of texts in the Resilience Engineering Perspectives series as well as by a growing number of papers and reports. This book encapsulates the essential practical lessons learned from the use of Resilience Engineering (RE) for over ten years. The main contents are a series of chapters written by those who have been instrumental in these applications. To increase the value for the reader, each chapter will include: rationale for the overall approach; data sought and reason(s) for choosing; data sources used, data analyses performed, and how recommendations were made and turned into practice. Serving as a reference for practitioners who want to analyse, support, and manage resilient performance, this book also advances research into RE by inquiring why work goes well in unpredictable environments, to improve work performance, or compensate for deficiencies.

The book discusses the potential of higher-order interactions to model real-world relational systems. Over the last decade, networks have emerged as the paradigmatic framework to model complex systems. Yet, as simple collections of nodes and links, they are intrinsically limited to pairwise interactions, limiting our ability to describe, understand, and predict complex phenomena which arise from higher-order interactions. Here we introduce the new modeling framework of higher-order systems, where hypergraphs and simplicial complexes are used to describe complex patterns of interactions among any number of agents. This book is intended both as a first introduction and an overview of the state of the art of this rapidly emerging field, serving as a reference for network scientists interested in better modeling the interconnected world we live in.

The book focuses on the nonlinear dynamics based on the vector fields with bivariate quadratic functions. This book is a unique monograph for two-dimensional quadratic nonlinear systems based on bivariate vector fields. Such a book provides different points of view about nonlinear dynamics and bifurcations of the quadratic dynamical systems on linear and nonlinear bivariate manifolds. Possible singular dynamics of the two-dimensional quadratic systems is discussed in detail. The dynamics of equilibriums and one-dimensional flows on bivariate manifolds are presented. Saddle-focus bifurcations are discussed, and switching bifurcations based on infinite-equilibriums are presented. Saddle-focus networks on bivariate manifolds are demonstrated. This book will serve as a reference book on dynamical systems and control for researchers, students and engineering in mathematics, mechanical and electrical engineering.

Gets right to the point with step-by-step guidance on solving physics problems. Covers all topics in standard general physics courses in the same sequence. Keeps learning about physics fun and engaging through the story of dinosaurs being tested on their knowledge for a final challenge (deflecting an asteroid headed to Earth!). Enables the reader to quickly flip through and locate steps needed for a particular problem. Includes tons of easy to follow diagrams and worked solutions.

This book is mainly focused on the global impulsive synchronization of complex dynamical networks with different types of couplings, such as general state coupling, nonlinear state coupling, time-varying delay coupling, derivative state coupling, proportional delay coupling and distributed delay coupling. Studies on impulsive synchronization of complex dynamical networks have attracted engineers and scientists from various disciplines, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, mathematics, network science, system engineering. Pursuing a holistic approach, the book establishes a fundamental framework for this topic, while emphasizing the importance of network synchronization and the significant influence of impulsive control in the design and optimization of complex networks. The primary audience for the book would be the scholars and graduate students whose research topics including the network science, control theory, applied mathematics, system science and so on.

This book presents the state of the art in social simulation as presented at the Social Simulation Conference 2019 in Mainz, Germany. It covers the developments in applications and methods of social simulation, addressing societal issues such as socio-ecological systems and policymaking. Methodological issues discussed include large-scale empirical calibration, model sharing and interdisciplinary research, as well as decision-making models, validation and the use of qualitative data in simulation modeling. Research areas covered include archaeology, cognitive science, economics, organization science and social simulation education. This book gives readers insight into the increasing use of social simulation in both its theoretical development and in practical applications such as policymaking whereby modeling and the behavior of complex systems is key. The book appeals to students, researchers and professionals in the various fields.

This book introduces selected recent findings on the analysis and control of dynamical behaviors for coupled reaction-diffusion neural networks. It presents novel research ideas and essential definitions concerning coupled reaction-diffusion neural networks, such as passivity, adaptive coupling, spatial diffusion coupling, and the relationship between synchronization and output strict passivity. Further, it gathers research results previously published in many flagship journals, presenting them in a unified form. As such, the book will be of interest to all university researchers and graduate students in Engineering and Mathematics who wish to study the dynamical behaviors of coupled reaction-diffusion neural networks.

Discontinuity in Nonlinear Physical Systems explores recent developments in experimental research in this broad field, organized in four distinct sections. Part I introduces the reader to the fractional dynamics and Lie group analysis for nonlinear partial differential equations. Part II covers chaos and complexity in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems, important to understand the resonance interactions in nonlinear dynamical systems, such as Tsunami waves and wildfire propagations; as well as Lev flights in chaotic trajectories, dynamical system synchronization and DNA information complexity analysis. Part III examines chaos and periodic motions in discontinuous dynamical systems, extensively present in a range of systems, including piecewise linear systems, vibro-impact systems and drilling systems in engineering. And in Part IV, engineering and financial nonlinearity are discussed. The mechanism of shock wave with saddle-node bifurcation and rotating disk stability will be presented, and the financial nonlinear models will be discussed.

Gathering the proceedings of the 14th CHAOS2021 International Conference, this book highlights recent developments in nonlinear, dynamical and complex systems. The conference was intended to provide an essential forum for Scientists and Engineers to exchange ideas, methods, and techniques in the field of Nonlinear Dynamics, Chaos, Fractals and their applications in General Science and the Engineering Sciences. The respective chapters address key methods, empirical data and computer techniques, as well as major theoretical advances in the applied nonlinear field. Beyond showcasing the state of the art, the book will help academic and industrial researchers alike apply chaotic theory in their studies. Chapter "On the Origin of the Universe: Chaos or Cosmos" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com

Intended for beginning graduate students or advanced undergraduates, this text covers the statistical basis of thermodynamics, including examples from solid-state physics. It also treats some topics of more recent interest such as phase transitions and non-equilibrium phenomena. The presentation introducesmodern concepts, such as the thermodynamic limit and equivalence of Gibbs ensembles, and uses simple models (ideal gas, Einstein solid, simple paramagnet) and many examples to make the mathematical ideas clear. Frequently used mathematical methods are discussed in detail and reviews in an appendix. The book begins with a review of statistical methods and classical thermodynamics, making it suitable for students from a variety of backgrounds. Statistical mechanics is formulated in the microcanonical ensemble; some simple arguments and many examples are used to construct th canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. The discussion of quantum statistical mechanics includes Bose and Fermi ideal gases, the Bose-Einstein condensation, blackbody radiation, phonons and magnons. The van der Waals and Curoe-Weiss phenomenological models are used to illustrate the classical theories of phase transitions and critical phenomena; modern developments are intorducted with discussions of the Ising model, scaling theory, and renormalization-group ideas. The book concludes withy two chapters on nonequilibrium phenomena: one using Boltzmann's kinetic approach, and the other based on stochastic methods. Exercises at the end of each chapter are an integral part of the course, clarifying and extending topics discussed in the text. Hints and solutions can be found on the author's web site.

The dielectric properties especially of glassy materials are nowadays explored at widely varying temperatures and pressures without any gap in the spectral range from Hz up to the Infrared, thus covering typically 20 decades or more. This extraordinary span enables to trace the scaling and the mutual interactions of relaxation processes in detail, e.g. the dynamic glass transition and secondary relaxations, but as well far infrared vibrations, like the Boson peak. Additionally the evolution of intra-molecular interactions in the course of the dynamic glass transition is also well explored by (Fourier Transform) Infrared Spectroscopy. This volume within 'Advances in Dielectrics' summarizes this knowledge and discusses it with respect to the existing and often competing theoretical concepts.