"Exploring Complex Systems: Dynamics, Growth and Fluctuations Out of Equilibrium"
Dr. Gianluca Teza
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden (Germany)

Our understanding of physical systems is largely shaped by observations made at or near equilibrium. Yet, most of the systems around us – ranging from a cup of coffee cooling on our table to life as we know it – are intrinsically out of equilibrium. Despite significant breakthroughs in the last decades, we still lack a comprehensive theory to describe nonequilibrium macroscopic phenomena. In this seminar, I will provide an overview on recent advances characterizing counterintuitive out-of-equilibrium phenomenologies (such as the Mpemba effect), both in simple and many-body interacting systems [1-4], showcasing applications in quantum simulators [5]. I will then present results that establish novel unifying principles for out of equilibrium systems, drawing parallels to foundational concepts in equilibrium statistical mechanics [6-9]. Finally, I will show some interdisciplinary applications to underline how the techniques and methodologies we developed can allow us to tackle issues and model a variety of complex systems, ranging from biology [10] to macroeconomics and finance [11-13]. I will also discuss a recent project – within a collaboration involving different institutional actors – which focuses on developing innovative data-driven econometric models based on the methodologies introduced in [11-13].

[1] GT, R. Yaacoby, and O. Raz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 017101 (2023).
[2] GT, R. Yaacoby, and O. Raz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 207103 (2023).
[3] R. Yaacoby, O. Raz, and GT, arXiv:2203.11644, (2024). [4] GT, J. Bechhoefer, A. Lasanta, O. Raz, and M. Vucelja, Physics Reports, (to appear, 2025).
[5] S. Aharony Shapira, Y. Shapira, J. Markov, GT, N. Akerman, O. Raz, and R. Ozeri, Phys. Rev . Lett. 133, 010403 (2024).
[6] GT and A. L. Stella, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 110601 (2020).
[7] A. L. Stella, A. Chechkin, and GT, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 207104 (2023).
[8] GT and A. L. Stella, arXiv:2407.07782 (2024).
[9] T. GrandPre, GT, and W. Bialek, arXiv:2412.19772 (2024).
[10] R. Arbel-Goren, S. A. McKeithen-Mead, D. Voglmaier, I. Afremov, GT, A. D. Grossman, and J . Stavans, Nucleic acids research, gkad068 (2023).
[11] GT, M. Caraglio, and A. L. Stella, Entropy 20 (2018).
[12] GT, M. Caraglio, and A. L. Stella, Scientific reports 8, 15230 (2018).
[13] GT, M. Caraglio, and A. L. Stella, Scientific reports 11, 10189 (2021).