Mathematics Seminar: Interactions in oscillatory systems far from equilibrium

24 Nov 2022 3:10 PM - 4:10 PM
Presenter/Speaker: Professor Aneta Stefanovska, Lancaster University
Location: G.3.33

Living systems produce their energy by themselves. In this process they depend on energy and matter delivered form the environment and their ability to remove the waste products of their metabolism, which makes them thermodynamically open systems. This means that they are characterised by multiple interactions - between themselves and with the environment. Their dynamics is also nonlinear. However, most of the models we use to model living systems are linear and treat them as isolated systems. In this talk I will argue that it is much simpler to treat them as non-autonomous, nonlinear and open systems than to try to adapt our current models and extend them to fit the main characteristics of living systems. Practical examples of living systems – related to cell dynamics and circadian rhythms, as well as condensed matter physics – will be used to illustrate how the multiscale dynamics of non-autonomous systems can be rescued from the common current perception of being noisy or chaotic.