Interdisciplinary Workshop on Fluctuations and Coherence: from Superfluids to Living Systems

我们建议召开一个跨学科研讨会，将来自不同领域的专家聚集在一起，讨论与复杂系统中波动和非线性相互作用相关的广泛现象。对于这些看似不同的现象，潜在的物理和概念有很多共同之处，比如在超流体中产生量子化的涡旋和在超导体中产生通量线，在生物细胞和冷原子系统中的随机棘轮中的质量传输，在激光中的模式切换，在纳米机械谐振器和用于量子测量的约瑟夫森分叉放大器中的国家间切换，在心肺同步状态之间的转换，He II中的湍流，海洋上的无赖波，以及种群动力学中的灭绝。然而，来自相应学科的专家很少(如果有的话)聚在一起研究实际上是共同感兴趣的问题，他们的专业知识可能会互补。拟议中的会议旨在解决这一不足，并承诺在各学科之间进行有效的知识转移。要讨论的主题将包括经典和量子系统中罕见随机事件背后的隐藏动力学，重点是远离热平衡的系统。我们将讨论诸如速率缩放之类的通用功能。将考虑在不同类型的系统中控制罕见事件的方法，例如增加/降低事件的比率。我们将探索远离热平衡的量子涨落的不同寻常的作用，这在平衡系统中是没有类似的。将讨论导致罕见事件的机制，从纳米尺度(例如超流体中的涡旋、冷原子和纳米机械谐振器)，到介观(例如约瑟夫森结)，到宏观(例如心肺相互作用和海洋上的无赖波)。这些相同的机制也经常导致非线性系统的一致性丧失。还将讨论其他类型的非高斯涨落，包括全计数统计，这与从介观导体到生物系统的各种学科相关。因此，研讨会的目标是通过揭示不同类别系统行为的共同和特定方面，促进对远离热平衡的波动非线性系统的控制的新方法的理解和开发。将这些不同领域的最好的专家聚集在一起需要仔细的规划和劝说，因为需要向他们解释他们的工作如何与研讨会的广泛背景相适应。它还需要为旅行和生活提供财政支持，因为我们希望吸引的许多科学家习惯于邀请他们支付大部分或全部费用。我们预计这一类别的15位主旨演讲者将在总共60人的会议上发表演讲，大多数人都是被邀请的，但资历范围很广，包括一些选定的博士生。将不会有并行会话。除讲座外，还将举行圆桌讨论会，讨论超越学科的特定主题，以找出相似之处和区别，并促进知识转让。兰开斯特在许多方面都是举办这样的研讨会的天然场所，因为它的低温和非线性与生物医学物理研究小组已经涵盖了几个要研究的主题，包括超流、涨落理论和心血管动力学。将主办此次活动的物理系在国内和国际上享有极高的声誉(例如，在2008年英国国家研究评估活动中获得最佳研究概况)。大学的会议设施是举办这类研讨会的理想之选，在紧凑而宜人的校园里，高质量的会议、饮食和睡眠设施都非常接近。

We propose an interdisciplinary workshop bringing together experts from diverse fields to discuss a broad range of phenomena associated with the interplay of fluctuations and nonlinearity in complex systems. The underlying physics and concepts have much in common for such seemingly different phenomena as creation of quantized vortices in superfluids and flux lines in superconductors, mass transport in stochastic ratchets in biological cells and cold atom systems, mode switching in lasers, interstate switching in nano-mechanical resonators and in the Josephson bifurcation amplifiers used in quantum measurements, transitions between cardio-respiratory synchronization states, turbulence in He II, rogue waves on the ocean, and extinctions in population dynamics. Yet experts from the corresponding disciplines seldom, if ever, get together to study what in reality are problems of mutual interest where their expertise is likely to be complementary. The proposed conference seeks to address this deficiency and promises effective knowledge transfer between the disciplines.The topics to be addressed will include the hidden dynamics that underlies rare random events in both classical and quantum systems, with emphasis on systems far from thermal equilibrium. Generic features like rate-scaling will be discussed. Ways of controlling rare events in different types of system, e.g. increasing/decreasing the rates of the events, will be considered. The unusual role of quantum fluctuations far from thermal equilibrium, which has no analogue in equilibrium systems, will be explored. The mechanisms responsible for rare events will be discussed, ranging from the nano-scale (e.g. vortices in superfluids, cold atoms, and nano-mechanical resonators), through the mesoscopic (e.g. Josephson junctions), to the macroscopic (e.g. cardio-respiratory interaction and rogue waves on the ocean). These same mechanisms are also often responsible for loss of coherence in nonlinear systems. Other types of non-Gaussian fluctuations will be discussed, including full counting statistics, which is relevant to disciplines ranging from mesoscopic conductors to biosystems. The goal of the workshop is thus to advance understanding and develop new means of controlling fluctuating nonlinear systems far from thermal equilibrium by revealing the common and specific aspects of the behavior of different classes of system. To bring together the best experts in such different areas will involve careful planning and persuasion, as they will need to have it explained how their work fits into the broad context of the workshop. It will also require financial support for travel and subsistence, as many of the scientists we wish to attract are accustomed to invitations where most or all of their costs are covered. We envisage 15 keynote invited speakers in this category within a meeting of up to 60 participants in total, mostly invited, but with a wide range of seniority including some selected PhD students. There will be no parallel sessions. In addition to lectures, there will be round-table discussions of particular topics that transcend the disciplines, in order to identify the analogies and distinctions, and to promote knowledge transfer. Lancaster is in many ways a natural venue for such a workshop, as its Low Temperature and Nonlinear & Biomedical Physics research groups already encompass several of the topics to be studied including superfluidity, fluctuation theory, and cardiovascular dynamics. The Physics Department which will host the event has an excellent national and international reputation (e.g. best research profile in the 2008 UK national Research Assessment Exercise). The University's conference facilities are ideal for a workshop of this kind, with high quality meeting, eating and sleeping facilities all in close proximity on a compact and pleasant campus.