Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics: Mathematical Understanding and Numerical Simulation (12w5013)

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics: Mathematical Understanding and Numerical Simulation" workshop from November 11th to November 16th, 2012.

Some properties of materials can be understood from atomistic descriptions of systems at equilibrium -- such as the equation of state relating the pressure of a fluid to its density at a given temperature. Other properties, such as transport coefficients, can be measured only as responses to some external driving. For instance, the thermal conductivity can be obtained as the ratio of the thermal current inside a system to the temperature gradient applied to it. However, the external force drives the system out of equilibrium, and even if a steady state can be attained, the mathematical understanding of this steady state is far from being complete.



Approaches combining theoretical studies and numerical experiments on computers are therefore necessary to gain some understanding. The workshop aims at gathering a mixed audience, composed of mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists, studying nonequilibrium systems from a theoretical wiewpoint and/or through numerical simulations.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).