The modified finite-size scaling (for dimensions d ⩾ d, where d is the upper critical dimensionality) is verified in the closed vicinity of both the classical and the quantum multicritical points by the example of a quantum model for an anharmonic cyrstal, confined to a fully finite (block)...

The lecture notes give an introduction to some aspects of fluctuations in driven systems. First, a particularly straightforward derivation of fluctuation theorems and their relation to linear response will be given. Being particularly simple the derivation gives clear limitations on the regime...

Effects of the averaging over disorder realizations (samples) on the phase behavior are analyzed in terms of the mean field approximation for the random field Ising model with infinite range interactions. It is found that the averaging is equivalent to a drastic modification in the statistics of...

We study the role of the noise in the dynamics of two competing species. We consider generalized Lotka–Volterra equations in the presence of a multiplicative noise, which models the interaction between the species and the environment. The interaction parameter between the species is a random...

A new statistical mechanics approach to dense granular media is presented. The thermodynamic formalism is set out directly in terms of elastic potential energy, such that the configurational temperature (the intensive property which defines the steady state) relates to a quadratic function of...

Evidence for Ziegler’s principle of maximum entropy production has been accumulated from different fields such as climatic studies, crystal growth, dynamics of ecosystems and cellular metabolism. However, Ziegler’s principle is still seen with scepticism by the scientific community. The...

The collective behavior of locally coupled-map lattices is investigated when the connections are defined on fractal geometries, such as generalized Sierpinski gaskets embedded in d-dimensional Euclidean spaces. The collective states are described through the mean fields of the networks. Periodic...

We discuss the relation between ensemble and time averages for quasistationary states of low-dimensional symplectic maps that present remarkable analogies with similar states detected in many-body long-range-interacting Hamiltonian systems.

Hydrodynamics equations derived directly from Boltzmann’s equation and specialized to sheared planar flow are shown to yield approximate nonlinear laws of heat transport and of viscous flow. The law of viscous flow predicts non-Newtonian effects including shear thinning and the law of heat...