SoSe 18: Komplexe Dynamik in Flüssigkeiten
Felix Höfling
Information for students
- Hansen and McDonald: Theory of simple liquids (Academic Press, 2006).
- Höfling and Franosch, Anomalous transport in the crowded world of biological cells, Rep. Prog. Phys. 76, 046602 (2013).
Further literature will be given during the course.
closeAdditional information / Pre-requisites
Target audience: M.Sc. Computational Sciences/Mathematik/Physik
Requirements: some advanced course on either statistical physics or stochastic processes
closeComments
The liquid state comprises a large class of materials ranging from simple fluids (argon, methane) and molecular fluids (water) to soft matter systems such as polymer solutions (ketchup), colloidal suspensions (wall paint), and heterogeneous media (cell cytoplasm). The basic transport mode in liquids is that of diffusion due to thermal fluctuations, but already the simplest liquids exhibit a non-trivial dynamic response well beyond simple diffusion. From the early days of the field, computer simulations have played a central role in identifying complex dynamics and testing the approximations of their theoretical descriptions. On the other hand, theory imposes constraints on the analysis of experimental or simulation data.
The course is at the interface of stochastic dynamical systems and statistical mechanics. Starting from probability theory, I will give an introduction to the principles of liquid-state theory with a focus on dynamic aspects. The second part makes contact to recent research and gives an overview on selected topics. The exercises are split into a theoretical part, discussed in biweekly lessons, and a practical part in form of a small simulation project conducted during a block session (2 days) after the lecture phase.
Keywords:
- Brownian motion, diffusion, and other transport processes in fluids
- harmonic analysis of correlation functions
- linear response theory, Zwanzig-Mori projection formalism
- mode-coupling theories, long-time tails
- critical dynamics and transport anomalies
Suggested reading
- Hansen and McDonald: Theory of simple liquids (Academic Press, 2006).
- Höfling and Franosch, Anomalous transport in the crowded world of biological cells, Rep. Prog. Phys. 76, 046602 (2013).
Further literature will be given during the course.
close14 Class schedule
Regular appointments