Field theories of Active and Driven matter

UTC
Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room (James Clerk Maxwell Building)

Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

James Clerk Maxwell Building

School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
Description

When energy is continuously fed into a system the states of matter, large scale structures it can form, and the collective dynamics it undergoes are far richer than for a system in thermal equilibrium. In the last decade, two distinct and separate communities have developed addressing aspects of this problem in quantum and in classical systems. In the context of quantum systems, work on the collective behaviour of driven-dissipative systems has explored Bose-Einstein condensation of particles with finite lifetime, and the possibility of creating “crystals of light”, using microwave or optical photons to simulate phases of matter. The classical context in which such problems are studied is that of active matter, which explores how the local energy input from individual living organisms creates a new class of fluids, with applications including the flocking of animal swarms, biological tissue dynamics, and engineered active colloids.

In both these fields, a central challenge is to understand how large scale behaviour emerges from the microscopic details of the theory, and to classify the forms of behaviour that are possible. Such a goal, echoing the concepts of universality known from equilibrium critical phenomena, remains an open challenge. While classification of some types of behaviour was summarised in the canonical 1977 review of Hohenberg and Halperin on dynamical critical phenomena, the work of the last decade has shown there exist wide varieties of behaviour not captured by the approach presented there. Field theoretic approaches are a key tool in abstracting the effective long wavelength description from a microscopic theory. Moreover, they provide a natural route to renormalization group approaches, extracting critical behaviour at large scales. Such approaches are applicable both in quantum and classical problems, via the Schwinger-Keldysh and Martin-Siggia-Rose path integral approaches respectively.

This meeting aims to bring together these two distinct communities, inviting a core of those researchers whose work has crossed the divide of quantum and classical, as well as key researchers focussed on the two separate areas. In order to ensure real connections are developed, speakers will be asked to provide a pedagogical introduction to their talks, aimed at addressing the full range of participants of the meeting.

This meeting is supported both by the Higgs Centre and by the EPSRC Network on Emergence and Physics Far From Equilibrium. Members of this network can claim for travel expenses for attending this meeting.

 

Speakers

Rosalind Allen, University of Edinburgh

Eric Bertin, Université Grenoble Alpes

Mike Cates, University of Cambridge

Ramin Golestanian, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

Tanniemola Liverpool, University of Bristol

Cristina Marchetti, University of California at Santa Barbara

Lukas Sieberer, University of Innsbruck

Ben Simons, University of Cambridge

Marzena Szymanska, University College London

John Toner, University of Oregon

Julia Yeomans, University of Oxford

 

Registration

Registration for this event is now open.

 

Accommodation Suggestions

Please follow this link to view available B&Bs and guesthouses close to the Kings Building Campus and the James Clerk Maxwell Building. Please inquire about academic rates. Further information on the venue can be found here .

    • Introduction Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 1
      John Toner, University of Oregon: Locusts, Chemical waves, and Active Bose-Einstein condensation Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 11:00
      Coffee Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 2
      Marzena Szymanska, University College London: Driven-dissipative quantum fluids of light Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 12:30
      Lunch Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 3
      Mike Cates, University of Cambridge: Active phase separation Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • Breakout Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 16:00
      Coffee Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 4
      Eric Bertin, Université Grenoble Alpes: Deriving non-linear field equations for ordering transitions in gases of active particles Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 5
      Cristina Marchetti, University of California at Santa Barbara: Topology in active and living matter Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 19:30
      Conference Dinner St Trinnean's (St Leonard's Hall)

      St Trinnean's

      St Leonard's Hall

      18 Holyrood Park Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5AY
    • 6
      Lukas Sieberer, University of Innsbruck: Order by anisotropy in two-dimensional driven-open systems Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 7
      Rosalind Allen, University of Edinburgh: Phase transitions in the growth of bacterial biofilms, predicted by simulations Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 11:00
      Coffee Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 8
      Julia Yeomans, University of Oxford: Modelling cells and bacteria as active materials Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 12:30
      Lunch Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 9
      Ben Simons, University of Cambridge: A theory of branching morphogenesis Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 10
      Ramin Golestanian, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization: Field theories for collective chemotaxis Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 16:00
      Coffee Break Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK
    • 11
      Tanniemola Liverpool, University of Bristol: Non-equilibrium steady states in active matter Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, Seminar Room

      James Clerk Maxwell Building

      School of Physics and Astronomy James Clerk Maxwell Building Peter Guthrie Tait Road Edinburgh EH9 3FD UK