ProfessorKim Christensen
Professor of Theoretical Physics
Department of Physics - Faculty of Natural Sciences
Orcid identifier0000-0002-7648-7332 (opens in a new tab)
- Professor of Theoretical PhysicsDepartment of Physics - Faculty of Natural Sciences
- 020 7594 7574 (Work)
- 812, Blackett Laboratory, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
RESEARCH
Overview
I work in the fields statistical mechanics and complexity and networks with an emphasis on far from equilibrium phenomena. The science of complexity is highly interdisciplinary and often deals with dynamical systems composed of many interacting units, for example organisms in biology, heart mucle cells in the myocardium, grains in granular media, network of agents in economics etc. Methods from statistical mechanics are emplyed to gain insight into the behaviour of such systems.
The overall objective of the science of complexity is to address why Nature is complex, not simple as the laws of physics seem to imply. How, for example, can scale invariance and organisation emerge from simple underlying rules associated with the individual units? In this sense, complexity refers to the emergent behaviour that arises from the repeated application of simple rules in systems with many degrees of freedom.
Keywords: Statistical mechanics, complexity, non-equilibrium systems, emergent properties, scale invariance, fractals, self-organised criticality, granular systems, ricepiles, stick-slip behaviour, spring-block models, relaxation processes, avalanches, earthquakes, rain, evolution, and atrial fibrillation.
I work in the fields statistical mechanics and complexity and networks with an emphasis on far from equilibrium phenomena. The science of complexity is highly interdisciplinary and often deals with dynamical systems composed of many interacting units, for example organisms in biology, heart mucle cells in the myocardium, grains in granular media, network of agents in economics etc. Methods from statistical mechanics are emplyed to gain insight into the behaviour of such systems.
The overall objective of the science of complexity is to address why Nature is complex, not simple as the laws of physics seem to imply. How, for example, can scale invariance and organisation emerge from simple underlying rules associated with the individual units? In this sense, complexity refers to the emergent behaviour that arises from the repeated application of simple rules in systems with many degrees of freedom.
Keywords: Statistical mechanics, complexity, non-equilibrium systems, emergent properties, scale invariance, fractals, self-organised criticality, granular systems, ricepiles, stick-slip behaviour, spring-block models, relaxation processes, avalanches, earthquakes, rain, evolution, and atrial fibrillation.