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Updated: May 8, 2026
11:03
An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Eddy current and coupled landscapes for nonadiabatic and nonequilibrium complex system dynamics
Kun Zhang1, Masaki Sasai, Jin Wang
1State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130022, People's Republic of China.
Summary
This study introduces a new framework for understanding complex systems with multiple time scales. It visualizes dynamics on a single landscape, revealing how "curl flux" significantly impacts gene regulatory processes.
Area of Science:
- Complex Systems Dynamics
- Theoretical Physics
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Physical and biological systems exhibit coupled processes across diverse timescales.
- Understanding nonequilibrium dynamics, especially when the energy function is unknown, presents a significant challenge.
- The interplay between intralandscape motion (atomic) and interlandscape hopping (electronic) dictates system behavior (adiabatic vs. nonadiabatic).
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a theoretical framework for global nonequilibrium and nonadiabatic complex system dynamics.
- To extend concepts of intra- and interlandscape dynamics to general nonequilibrium scenarios.
- To visualize and analyze the impact of novel dynamic features on complex systems.
Main Methods:
- Transforming coupled landscapes into a single, higher-dimensional landscape.
- Analyzing dynamics driven by potential landscape gradients and probability flux.
- Utilizing a self-regulating gene circuit as a case study.
Main Results:
- The developed framework allows for the description of global nonequilibrium and nonadiabatic dynamics.
- Dynamics on the single landscape are governed by potential gradients and a curl-nature probability flux.
- Curl flux was shown to have dramatic effects on gene regulatory dynamics in the example system.
Conclusions:
- The curl flux and landscape framework provides an intuitive visualization tool for complex system dynamics.
- This framework can guide future research into physical and biological nonequilibrium systems.
- The approach offers a unified perspective on systems with coupled processes of different time scales.
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