Flowing Matter

This open access book, published in the Soft and Biological Matter series, presents an introduction to selected research topics in the broad field of flowing matter, including the dynamics of fluids with a complex internal structure -from nematic fluids to soft glasses- as well as active matter and turbulent phenomena. Flowing matter is a subject at the crossroads between physics, mathematic…

The Search for Ultralight Bosonic Dark Matter

To set the stage for our study of ultralight bosonic dark matter (UBDM), we review the evidence for the existence of dark matter: galactic and stellar dynamics, gravitational lensing studies, measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), surveys of the large-scale structure of the universe, and the observed abundance of light elements. This diverse array of observational …

Periphery and Small Ones Matter

Dualism is closely linked with inequality. Any process of development entails forces of dispersion (centrifugal) and forces of concentration or agglomeration (centripetal). The tendency for activities to concentrate is driven by the external economies that exceeds the negative externalities (higher prices, congestion, etc.) caused by the concentration. On the other hand, external economies …

Transformation Thermotics and Extended Theories

This open access book describes the theory of transformation thermotics and its extended theories for the active control of macroscopic thermal phenomena of artificial systems, which is in sharp contrast to classical thermodynamics comprising the four thermodynamic laws for the passive description of macroscopic thermal phenomena of natural systems. This monograph consists of two parts, i.e., i…

Why More Is Different Philosophical Issues in Condensed Matter Physics and C…

The physics of condensed matter, in contrast to quantum physics or cosmology, is not traditionally associated with deep philosophical questions. However, as science - largely thanks to more powerful computers - becomes capable of analysing and modelling ever more complex many-body systems, basic questions of philosophical relevance arise. Questions about the emergence of structure, the nature o…

Bright galaxies, dark matter, and beyond :the life of astronomer Vera Rubin

How Vera Rubin convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist, persevering despite early dismissals of her work. We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not on…

Transport and Fluctuations in Granular Fluids from Boltzmann Equation to Hy…

This brief offers a concise presentation of granular fluids from the point of view of non-equilibrium statistical physics. The emphasis is on fluctuations, which can be large in granular fluids due to the small system size (the number of grains is many orders of magnitude smaller than in molecular fluids). Firstly, readers will be introduced to the most intriguing experiments on fluidized g…

Dark Energy as an Information Field and Attribute of the Universe