NZIAS-MPIPKS Tandem Workshops

Complex systems evolve according to the laws of nonlinear dynamics.
Many prominent examples include physical, biological, and engineering systems.
While nonlinear dynamics and its quantum counterpart have been extensively studied for
systems with few degrees of freedom, the situation is dramatically different both for
many degrees of freedom, and for the border between classical and quantum worlds.
The mastering of the dynamics of nanoscale systems with many degrees of freedom
becomes therefore a frontier of modern science, boosted by the advance of
nanofabrication technology and precise measurement of bio-systems at the nanoscale.

The idea of the tandem workshops is to bring together researchers from several fields
of quantum physics, biology, engineering and applied mathematics interested in the
nonlinear dynamics of nanoscale systems. These studies focus among other on
I) physical systems including: ultracold gases, polaritons, Josephson junction networks,
cold atoms, nano-electro-mechanical systems, and quantum optics,
II) biological systems, e.g. including auditory transduction of insects, vertebrate,
and criticality in biological systems,
III) mathematical methods and concepts in the general theory of complex systems
including mode interaction, many body interaction, bifurcations, and neural dynamics.

The worldwide rush into nano-science induced the need to master the essential
dynamical features of systems at the nanoscale. This knowledge is necessary for
predicting and controlling such systems, which more and more often become central
elements of modern technologies. Although several fields of nanoscience recently
enjoyed substantial progress general principles of the nonlinear dynamics at
nanoscale are yet to be established. The tandem workshops aim to close this gap and
work out such unifying principles. They focus on the manifestations of the nonlinear dynamics
in various emerging fields of research.