New Trends in Statistical Physics of Complex Systems

Abstract

A challenging frontier in statistical physics concerns the study of complex and disordered systems. An interesting aspect of complex systems is the emergence of self-organization, which often drives the system in a metastable configuration, typically far from the thermodynamic limit, where the equilibrium distribution differs significantly from the Boltzmann-Gibbs exponential one.

Complex systems are not necessarily composed of many entities. They can be small systems with few entities but characterized by an elevated level of interconnection and interaction between the parts that exhibit a richer global free-scale dynamic. This gives rise to collective emergent behaviors of the entire system that are no more recognized in the properties and in the behavior of the single individual entities. In this ground, the methods of statistical physics in understanding complex systems have been very promising."