MrEmir Sezik

Summary

 
I am a third year PhD student under the supervision of Dr Gunnar Pruessner. I studied Physics for my undergraduate degree at Imperial and completed a MASt degree at the DAMTP in Cambridge. 

My research involves using field theoretic techniques to characterise the macroscopic behaviour of non-equilibrium systems, most prominently active matter. Non-equilibrium systems can emerge in many ways, but the common denominator is the absence of a well-defined Hamiltonian that describes the dynamics of a system. Through this breaking of detailed balance, the system does not relax to a Boltzmann steady state and can demonstrate novel physics with no equilibrium counterpart. Most prominent example is flocking in 2-d, where self-propelled particles can break continuous rotational symmetry and sustain long-range order even in two dimensions. 

Field theory is a powerful tool in the description of such systems as it provides a systematic perturbative expansion through a diagrammatic language, a plethora of perturbative schemes and is naturally suited to capture the many degrees of freedom of a system. Concepts like Renormalisation Group or universality classes can be used with great success to understand the novel phases of these systems.