Can the whole not merely be the sum of its parts? How do collective patterns appear? Could three molecules of water form ice? Could higher-level abilities be created from interacting AI agents?
The notion of complexity pertains to systems in which somewhat unexpected properties emerge from the interplay of a sufficiently large number of entities — be they particles, living cells, artificial neurons, organisms, people, abstract agents... or even a mixture of some (or all!) of these.
Statistical physics has been the first branch of science to try and model in a mathematical manner such systems, focusing especially on the subtle and often elusive passage from the micro/individual level to the macro/collective level. This lecture course explores further how the mindset of statistical physics can provide fertile ground for the analysis and modelling of complexity, across disciplinary boundaries.
The seminar takes place on Wednesdays at 1:30pm in the lecture room Conf IV room. It is held in alternation with the physics department’s colloquium. The list is updated often.
Le cours de Physique pour Tous vise à donner une introduction générale aux grands domaines de la physique pour les non-physiciens, de la mécanique de Newton à la relativité d’Einstein et de la thermodynamique à la physique quantique, en passant par les trous noirs, les lasers, les cristaux liquides et de nombreux autres sujets passionnants.
Ce cours est une introduction aux phénomènes critiques géométriques aléatoires et leurs description par des techniques algébriques et probabilistiques et par des théories des champs quantiques.
The aim of this course is to introduce the most important topics needed to understand how we can test the Standard Model, then why and how we must go beyond it. It is aimed not just at future practitioners, but at anyone wanting to study High Energy Physics.
