Il 1953 `e un anno cruciale per la fisica computazionale: viene pubbli- cata la prima applicazione del metodo Monte-Carlo e si fanno i primi calcoli del cosiddetto esperimento numerico di Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou. E` l'inizio dell'u- so massiccio nelle scienze fisiche di metodi numerici implementati su computer elettronici e una tappa decisiva per lo sviluppo della moderna dinamica non linea- re che conoscera` uno sviluppo imprevedibile nei successivi 70 anni. Ripercorriamo brevemente lo svolgersi di quegli eventi e illustriamo alcuni risultati recenti che dimostrano come le questioni sollevate siano ancora attuali.

We study scattering of a periodic wave in a string on two lumped oscillators attached to it. The equations can be represented as a driven (by the incident wave) dissipative (due to radiation losses) system of delay differential equations of neutral type. Nonlinearity of oscillators makes the scattering non-reciprocal: The same wave is transmitted differently in two directions. Periodic regimes of scattering are analyzed approximately, using amplitude equation approach. We show that this setup can act as a nonreciprocal modulator via Hopf bifurcations of the steady solutions. Numerical simulations of the full system reveal nontrivial regimes of quasiperiodic and chaotic scattering. Moreover, a regime of a "chaotic diode," where transmission is periodic in one direction and chaotic in the opposite one, is reported.

We study in detail a one-dimensional lattice model of a continuum, conserved field (mass) that is transferred deterministically between neighboring random sites. The model belongs to a wider class of lattice models capturing the joint effect of random advection and diffusion and encompassing as specific cases some models studied in the literature, such as those of Kang-Redner, Kipnis-Marchioro-Presutti, Takayasu-Taguchi, etc. The motivation for our setup comes from a straightforward interpretation of the advection of particles in one-dimensional turbulence, but it is also related to a problem of synchronization of dynamical systems driven by common noise. For finite lattices, we study both the coalescence of an initially spread field (interpreted as roughening), and the statistical steady-state properties. We distinguish two main size-dependent regimes, depending on the strength of the diffusion term and on the lattice size. Using numerical simulations and a mean-field approach, we study the statistics of the field. For weak diffusion, we unveil a characteristic hierarchical structure of the field. We also connect the model and the iterated function systems concept.

We perform a numerical study of transport properties of a one-dimensional chain with couplings decaying as an inverse power r-(1+?) of the intersite distance r and open boundary conditions, interacting with two heat reservoirs. Despite its simplicity, the model displays highly nontrivial features in the strong long-range regime -1<?

Energy transfer in small nano-sized systems can be very different from that in their macroscopic counterparts due to reduced dimensionality, interaction with surfaces, disorder, and large fluctuations. Those ingredients may induce non-diffusive heat transfer that requires to be taken into account on small scales. We provide an overview of the recent advances in this field from the points of view of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and atomistic simulations. We summarize the underlying basic properties leading to violations of the standard diffusive picture of heat transport and its universal features, with some historical perspective. We complete this scenario by illustrating also the effects of long-range interaction and integrability on non-diffusive transport. Then we discuss how all of these features can be exploited for thermal management, rectification and to improve the efficiency of energy conversion. We conclude with a review on recent achievements in atomistic simulations of anomalous heat transport in single polymers, nanotubes and two-dimensional materials. A short account of the existing experimental literature is also given.

We study a scalar harmonic network with pair interactions and a binary collision rule, exchanging the momenta of a randomly-chosen couple of sites. We consider the case of the isolated network where the total energy is conserved. In the first part, we recast the dynamics as a stochastic map in normal modes (or action-angle) coordinates and provide a geometric interpretation of it. We formulate the problem for generic networks but, for completeness, also reconsider the translation-invariant lattices. In the second part, we examine the kinetic limit and its range of validity. A general form of the linear collision operator in terms of eigenstates of the network is given. This defines an action network, whose connectivity gives information on the out-of-equilibrium dynamics. We present a few examples (ordered and disordered chains and elastic networks) where the topology of connections in action spaces can be determined in a neat way. As an application, we consider the classic problem of relaxation to equipartition from the point of view of the dynamics of linear actions. We compare the results based on the spectrum of the collision operator with numerical simulation, performed with a novel scheme based on direct solution of the equations of motion in normal modes coordinates.

We study the nonequilibrium steady-state of a fully-coupled network of N quantum harmonic oscillators, interacting with two thermal reservoirs. Given the long-range nature of the couplings, we consider two setups: one in which the number of particles coupled to the baths is fixed (intensive coupling) and one in which it is proportional to the size N (extensive coupling). In both cases, we compute analytically the heat fluxes and the kinetic temperature distributions using the nonequilibrium Green's function approach, both in the classical and quantum regimes. In the large N limit, we derive the asymptotic expressions of both quantities as a function of N and the temperature difference between the baths. We discuss a peculiar feature of the model, namely that the bulk temperature vanishes in the thermodynamic limit, due to a decoupling of the dynamics of the inner part of the system from the baths. At variance with the usual case, this implies that the steady-state depends on the initial state of the bulk particles. We also show that quantum effects are relevant only below a characteristic temperature that vanishes as 1/N. In the quantum low-temperature regime the energy flux is proportional to the universal quantum of thermal conductance.

We present a simulation study of the one-dimensional phi (4) lattice theory with long-range interactions decaying as an inverse power r (-(1+sigma)) of the intersite distance r, sigma > 0. We consider the cases of single and double-well local potentials with both attractive and repulsive couplings. The double-well, attractive case displays a phase transition for 0 < sigma <= 1 analogous to the Ising model with long-range ferromagnetic interactions. A dynamical scaling analysis of both energy structure factors and excess energy correlations shows that the effective hydrodynamics is diffusive for sigma > 1 and anomalous for 0 < sigma < 1, where fluctuations propagate superdiffusively. We argue that this is accounted for by a fractional diffusion process and we compare the results with an effective model of energy transport based on Levy flights. Remarkably, this result is fairly insensitive on the phase transition. Nonequilibrium simulations with an applied thermal gradient are in quantitative agreement with the above scenario.

Artificial learning will significantly affect human life and science in the next decades. However, its basic principles of functioning are still theoretically not well understood. The aim of the workshop was to examine the relations and perspectives of the interaction between Data and Computer Sciences and Complexity theory on this matter.

We consider an array of nearest-neighbor coupled nonlinear autonomous oscillators with quenched random frequencies and purely conservative coupling. We show that global phase-locked states emerge in finite lattices and study numerically their destruction. Upon change of model parameters, such states are found to become unstable with the generation of localized periodic and chaotic oscillations. For weak nonlinear frequency dispersion, metastability occur akin to the case of almost-conservative systems. We also compare the results with the phase-approximation in which the amplitude dynamics is adiabatically eliminated.

Various systems in physics, biology, social sciences and engineering have been successfully modeled as networks of coupled dynamical systems, where the links describe pairwise interactions. This is, however, too strong a limitation, as recent studies have revealed that higher-order many-body interactions are present in social groups, ecosystems and in the human brain, and they actually affect the emergent dynamics of all these systems. Here, we introduce a general framework to study coupled dynamical systems accounting for the precise microscopic structure of their interactions at any possible order. We show that complete synchronization exists as an invariant solution, and give the necessary condition for it to be observed as a stable state. Moreover, in some relevant instances, such a necessary condition takes the form of a Master Stability Function. This generalizes the existing results valid for pairwise interactions to the case of complex systems with the most general possible architecture.

We study the nonequilibrium steady states of a one-dimensional fluid in a finite-space region of length L. Particles interact among themselves by multi-particle collisions and are in contact with two thermal-wall heat reservoirs, located at the boundaries of the region. After an initial ballistic regime, we find a crossover from a normal (kinetic) transport regime to an anomalous (hydrodynamic) one, above a characteristic size L*. We argue that L* is proportional to the cube of the collision time among particles. Motivated by the physics of emissive divertors in fusion plasma, we consider the more general case of thermal walls injecting particles with given average (nonthermal) velocity. For fast and relatively cold particles, short systems fail to establish local equilibrium and display non-Maxwellian distributions of velocities.

We investigate transient nonlinear localization, namely the self-excitation of energy bursts in an atomic lattice at finite temperature. As a basic model we consider the diatomic Lennard-Jones chain. Numerical simulations suggest that the effect originates from two different mechanisms. One is the thermal excitation of genuine discrete breathers with frequency in the phonon gap. The second is an effect of nonlinear coupling of fast, lighter particles with slow vibrations of the heavier ones. The quadratic term of the force generate an effective potential that can lead to transient grow of local energy on time scales the can be relatively long for small mass ratios. This heuristics is supported by a multiple-scale approximation based on the natural time-scale separation. For illustration, we consider a simplified single-particle model that allows for some insight of the localization dynamics.

Size dependence of energy transport and the effects of reduced dimensionality on transport coefficients are of key importance for understanding nonequilibrium properties of matter on the nanoscale. Here, we perform nonequilibrium and equilibrium simulations of heat conduction in a three-dimensional (3D) fluid with the multiparticle collision dynamics, interacting with two thermal walls. We find that the bulk 3D momentum-conserving fluid has a finite nondiverging thermal conductivity. However, for large aspect ratios of the simulation box, a crossover from 3D to one-dimensional (1D) abnormal behavior of the thermal conductivity occurs. In this case, we demonstrate a transition from normal to abnormal transport by a suitable decomposition of the energy current. These results not only provide a direct verification of Fourier's law, but also further confirm the validity of existing theories for 3D fluids. Moreover, they indicate that abnormal heat transport persists also for almost 1D fluids over a large range of sizes.

In this review paper we survey recent achievements in anomalous heat diffusion, while highlighting open problems and research perspectives. First, we briefly recall the main features of the phenomenon in low-dimensional classical anharmonic chains and outline some recent developments in the study of perturbed integrable systems and the effect of long-range forces and magnetic fields. Selected applications to heat transfer in material science at the nanoscale are described. In the second part, we discuss of the role of anomalous conduction in coupled transport and describe how systems with anomalous (thermal) diffusion allow a much better power-efficiency trade-off for the conversion of thermal to particle current.

Energy transport in one-dimensional chains of particles with three conservation laws is generically anomalous and belongs to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang dynamical universality class. Surprisingly, some examples where an apparent normal heat diffusion is found over a large range of length scales were reported. We propose a novel physical explanation of these intriguing observations. We develop a scaling analysis that explains how this may happen in the vicinity of an integrable limit, such as, but not only, the famous Toda model. In this limit, heat transport is mostly supplied by quasiparticles with a very large mean free path l. Upon increasing the system size L, three different regimes can be observed: a ballistic one, an intermediate diffusive range, and, eventually, the crossover to the anomalous (hydrodynamic) regime. Our theoretical considerations are supported by numerical simulations of a gas of diatomic hard-point particles for almost equal masses and of a weakly perturbed Toda chain. Finally, we discuss the case of the perturbed harmonic chain, which exhibits a yet different scenario.

We consider a model for chaotic diffusion with amplification on graphs associated with piecewise-linear maps of the interval. We investigate the possibility of having power-law tails in the invariant measure by approximate solution of the Perron-Frobenius equation and discuss the connection with the generalized Lyapunov exponents L(q). We then consider the case of open maps where trajectories escape and demonstrate that stationary power-law distributions occur when L(q)=r, with r being the escape rate. The proposed system is a toy model for coupled active chaotic cavities or lasing networks and allows to elucidate in a simple mathematical framework the conditions for observing Lévy statistical regimes and chaotic intermittency in such systems.

Transport phenomena are ubiquitous in physics, and it is generally understood that the environmental disorder and noise deteriorates the transfer of excitations. There are, however, cases in which transport can be enhanced by fluctuations. In the present work, we show, by means of micromagnetics simulations, that transport efficiency in a chain of classical macrospins can be greatly increased by an optimal level of dephasing noise. We also demonstrate the same effect in a simplified model, the dissipative Discrete Nonlinear Schrodinger equation, subject to phase noise. Our results point towards the realization of a large class of magnonics and spintronics devices, where disorder and noise can be used to enhance spin-dependent transport efficiency.

We present a detailed investigation of the denaturation process for intergenic sequences of several bacterial species. The reason for analyzing these specific sequences is that these regions are expected to be denaturated to allow for the intrusion of the transcription factors performing the transcription process of genes. Our study relies upon a well known dynamical model of the DNA double-strand proposed by Dauxois-Peyrard-Bishop [44], applied to the collection of intergenic regions from bacterial species. We have performed extended numerical simulations in the presence of a thermostat (canonical setup) and we have found that all of these indicators essentially identify a typical denaturation temperature. This confirms the reliability and robustness of the denaturation thermodynamics described by this model. We want to remark also that the actual value of the denaturation temperature, as expected, varies from species to species, because of the different structural features of the corresponding intergenic sequences. Another important result reported in this manuscript is that the comparison with simulations in the absence of a thermostat (microcanonical setup) yields sensibly higher, irrealistic denaturation temperatures, thus providing evidence that thermal fluctuations play a crucial role in the cooperative effect yielding the denaturation process.

We present the Multi-Particle-Collision (MPC) dynamics approach to simulate properties of low-dimensional systems. In particular, we illustrate the method for a simple model: A one-dimensional gas of point particles interacting through stochastic collisions and admitting three conservation laws (density, momentum and energy). Motivated from problems in fusion plasma physics, we consider an energy-dependent collision rate that accounts for the lower collisionality of high-energy particles. We study two problems: (i) the collisional relaxation to equilibrium starting from an off-equilibrium state and (ii) the anomalous dynamical scaling of equilibrium time-dependent correlation functions. For problem (i), we demonstrate the existence of long-lived population of suprathermal particles that propagate ballistically over a quasi-thermalized background. For (ii) we compare simulations with the predictions of nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics for the structure factors of density fluctuations. Scaling analysis confirms the prediction that such model belong to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class.