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People show a natural tendency to walk to the left

Researchers found that people tend to move counterclockwise when walking, influencing crowd behavior and collective patterns. This individual inclination helps explain certain phenomena, offering a new perspective on understanding crowd dynamics.

SourceUniversidad Carlos III de Madrid·JournalNature Communications·TypeExperimental study·DateJun 11, 2026
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How turbulences affect wind turbines

Researchers develop new concept to accurately model wind turbine loads, focusing on local gusts' impact on material fatigue. This enhances turbine design and efficiency by reducing uncertainties in load estimations.

SourceUniversity of Oldenburg·JournalWind Energy Science·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateApr 21, 2026

The importance of data for crowd safety in public spaces

Researchers propose new method to capture complex human movement in public spaces, addressing limitations of traditional approaches. By standardizing data measurement, they aim to improve crowd safety predictions and design safer spaces.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·TypeExperimental study·DateApr 15, 2026

Discovery of a new superfluid phase in non-Hermitian quantum systems

Researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo have discovered a stable superfluid that inherently hosts singularities known as exceptional points. The study reveals how dissipation can stabilize this unique superfluid phase, which features a finite order parameter and emerges deep inside a strongly interacting phase.

SourceInstitute of Science Tokyo·JournalPhysical Review Letters·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateJan 12, 2026

The (metabolic) cost of life

A new paper proposes a way to calculate the thermodynamic costs of metabolic processes, ranking them according to their biological efficiency. The method estimates the improbability of a network behaving in a certain way, considering maintenance and restriction costs.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateJan 6, 2026
GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter

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A 'Rosetta Stone' for molecular systems

A new mathematical framework, STIV, can predict larger-scale effects like proteins unfolding and crystals forming without costly simulations or experiments. The framework solves a 40-year-old problem in phase-field modeling, allowing for the design of smarter medicines and materials.

SourceUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science·JournalJournal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics·TypeExperimental study·DateOct 20, 2025

Supercritical fluids once thought uniform found to contain liquid clusters

Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology experimentally demonstrated the existence of nanometer-sized liquid clusters in supercritical fluids, overturning the prevailing notion of a single phase. These clusters persisted for up to an hour and have significant implications for industrial processes and natural environments.

SourcePohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)·JournalCommunications Physics·DateSep 30, 2025

Turbulence with a twist

UC San Diego researchers Guru K. Jayasingh and Nigel Goldenfeld have predicted that a pipe's curvature can lead to a discontinuous turbulent transition beyond a critical flow velocity. This phenomenon is mathematically equivalent to the freezing of water, leveraging tricritical directed percolation theory.

SourceUniversity of California - San Diego·JournalPhysical Review Letters·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateSep 11, 2025
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HKUST team develops novel sampling method to innovate statistical mechanics

A research team led by Prof. PAN Ding and Dr. LI Shuo-Hui has developed a novel direct sampling method based on deep generative models for statistical mechanics. This method enables efficient sampling of the Boltzmann distribution across a continuous temperature range, overcoming energy barriers in simulations.

SourceHong Kong University of Science and Technology·JournalPhysical Review Letters·TypeObservational study·DateSep 3, 2025

Few diffusers and many bottlenecks: the French labor market according to statistical physics

A new study applies network analysis to large-scale data from the French labor market, identifying four main clusters: diffusers, channels, hubs, and condensers. Diffuser occupations offer wide exit opportunities but are hard to enter, while channels and hubs face accessibility issues.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateMay 27, 2025

Are birds flying atoms?

A new study by an international team, including MIT and CNRS, observed that similarities exist between the behavior of birds in flight and physical systems. The research suggests that the transition from disorder to coordination is not as different between particles and biological elements as previously thought.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateAug 8, 2024

The unexpected connection between brewing coffee and understanding turbulence

A team of researchers led by Nigel Goldenfeld and Björn Hof used statistical mechanics to study turbulence in fluid flows. They discovered that the transitions between laminar and turbulent flows occur through a non-equilibrium phase transition, known as directed percolation, at the critical point of the transition.

SourceUniversity of California - San Diego·JournalNature Physics·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateJun 3, 2024
Rigol DP832 Triple-Output Bench Power Supply

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Cars as particles

A mathematical model developed by Alexandre Solon and Eric Bertin describes the movement of particles in situations similar to cars on a road or bacteria attracted to a nutrient source. The model identifies conditions that favor traffic jams, including high vehicle density and driver inertia.

SourceSissa Medialab·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·TypeComputational simulation/modeling·DateApr 30, 2024

New wind field models accurately describe wind gusts

Researchers at the University of Oldenburg have developed a new statistical model that accurately describes wind turbulence and generates fully three-dimensional wind fields using limited measurement points. This breakthrough enables precise wind turbine load estimation and improves wind farm planning, with applications in various fiel...

SourceUniversity of Oldenburg·JournalPRX Energy·TypeData/statistical analysis·DateNov 15, 2022

Tiny animal hairs could act as sensitive compass needles

Research by Kirill Kavokin found that around 100 hair cells in an animal's inner ear can act as effective biological compass needles, allowing them to detect the magnetic field. This discovery could bring biologists closer to understanding the origins of magnetoreception and identifying mechanisms responsible.

SourceSpringer·JournalThe European Physical Journal Special Topics·DateSep 26, 2022

The Riemann conjecture unveiled by physics

A mathematical enigma, the Riemann conjecture, has been unraveled thanks to a new approach from statistical physics. The solution lies in chaotic motions and probability laws that regulate them.

SourceScuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati·JournalJournal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment·DateNov 23, 2021
SAMSUNG T9 Portable SSD 2TB

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Joel L. Lebowitz honored with 2021 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics

Joel L. Lebowitz, director of the Center for Mathematical Sciences Research at Rutgers University, has been awarded the 2021 Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics for his significant contributions to nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. His work investigates how macroscopic systems behave dynamically in a nonequilibrium state.

SourceAmerican Institute of Physics·DateOct 7, 2020

Much improved climate predictions from statistical mechanics

A new study using statistical mechanics improves climate prediction accuracy for IPCC-class models, bridging gap between scenarios and models. This approach enables real-time scenario construction and facilitates the assessment of tipping points, a crucial aspect of understanding climate change.

SourceUniversity of Copenhagen·JournalScientific Reports·DateJun 18, 2020

'What is not just a thing': an alternative inquiry into 'what is life'

Researchers introduce concept of 'live' process emerging from interactions between molecules and environment, identifying earliest hallmark of life. They suggest this process could lead to emergence of complex living organisms with characteristics currently known.

SourceScience China Press·JournalScience China Life Sciences·DateSep 4, 2018
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm)

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Breaking laws, making glass

At temperatures near absolute zero, systems of atoms violate basic laws of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. A novel non-equilibrium state, coined as dynamical glass phase, is observed where energy is not evenly distributed, leading to a new understanding of complex systems.

SourceInstitute for Basic Science·JournalPhysical Review Letters·DateJun 10, 2018

From a model of fluids to the birth of a new field in computational physics

Computational statistical mechanics was born from numerical models of fluids developed in the 1950s, initially as a pet project by physicists. These Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations were later confirmed through clever applications of importance sampling, proving reliable evidence for describing matter.

SourceSpringer·JournalThe European Physical Journal H·DateMay 22, 2018

Physics may bring faster solutions for tough computational problems

Researchers developed a novel approach to solve difficult computational problems using statistical mechanics and reversible logic gates, avoiding phase transitions that slow down the process. The vertex model can be applied to machine learning, circuit optimization, and other major computational challenges.

SourceUniversity of Central Florida·JournalNature Communications·DateMay 12, 2017

Monkey fights help explain tipping points in animal societies

Researchers analyzed conflicts within a captive community of macaque monkeys to understand how agitated individuals can trigger large-scale brawls. They found that a small number of agitated monkeys can destabilize the system, but individual differences among group members may allow for more controlled distance from criticality.

SourceSanta Fe Institute·JournalNature Communications·DateFeb 10, 2017
DJI Air 3 (RC-N2)

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Argonne theorists solve a long-standing fundamental problem

Scientists from Argonne National Laboratory have developed a way to reconcile two fundamentally different pictures of reality in statistical mechanics. The new approach provides a general and exact solution for the density of states, which is essential for understanding system behavior.

SourceDOE/Argonne National Laboratory·JournalThe Journal of Chemical Physics·DateAug 30, 2016

Simons Foundation honors UMass Amherst mathematician

HongKun Zhang will use the $100,000 award to work with colleagues in France and St. Louis on a mathematical conjecture arising in statistical mechanics. Her research aims to improve conceptual understanding of physical systems and predict their behavior.

SourceUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst·DateApr 7, 2015

Inequality and investment bubbles

Research by physics professor Victor Yakovenko links income inequality with bursting financial bubbles. He models income distribution using statistical physics, finding a long tail in the upper 3% of incomes that correlates with investment downturns.

SourceJoint Quantum Institute·JournalReviews of Modern Physics·DateApr 19, 2012
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro)

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