IPLS Seminar: Dr. Massimo Pica Ciamarra (Nanyang Technological University Singapore)

Abstract: The collective behaviour of many-particle systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium permeates all the sciences, like physics, engineering, biology and humanities. In physical systems, examples are the elastic response of disordered solids [1], the mechanical failure of granular assemblies that triggers earthquakes and avalanches [2,3], and exotic phases with functional properties unreachable in equilibrium [5]. In living systems, instances of collective behaviour include the concerted motion of cells [6] in tissues during embryonic development and crowd dynamics. 

This talk will overview my research effort to unveil the physical principles regulating the emergence of collective out-of-equilibrium phenomena in the physical and biological context, their properties and their degree of universality [7-9].

[1] S. Mahajan and M. P. Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 215504 (2021).
[2] J. Chattoraj, O. Gendelman, M. Pica Ciamarra, and I. Procaccia, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 098003 (2019).
[3] S. Mahajan, M. Tennenbaum, S. N. Pathak, D. Baxter, X. Fan, P. Padilla, C. Anderson, A. Fernandez-Nieves, and M. Pica Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 128002 (2020).
[4] Y. Zheng, A. D. S. Parmar, and M. P. Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 118003 (2021).
[5] Q.-L. Lei, M. P. Ciamarra, and R. Ni, Sci. Adv. 5, eaau7423 (2019).
[6] Y.-W. Li and M. Pica Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Mater. 2, 045602 (2018).
[7] Y.-W. Li, C. K. Mishra, Z.-Y. Sun, K. Zhao, T. G. Mason, R. Ganapathy, and M. P. Ciamarra, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 116, 22977 (2019).
[8] Y.-W. Li and M. P. Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 218002 (2020).
[9] J. Chattoraj and M. P. Ciamarra, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 028001 (2020).

Host: Guillaume Charras