Publication Date

2015-11-17

Availability

Open access

Embargo Period

2015-11-17

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)

Department

Physics (Arts and Sciences)

Date of Defense

2015-10-29

First Committee Member

Neil F. Johnson

Second Committee Member

Joshua L. Cohn

Third Committee Member

Chaoming Song

Fourth Committee Member

Stefan Wuchty

Abstract

Complexity seeks to unwrap the mechanisms responsible for collective phenomena across the physical, biological, chemical, economic and social sciences. This thesis investigates real-world complex dynamical systems ranging from the quantum/natural domain to the social domain. The following novel understandings are developed concerning these systems' out-of-equilibrium and nonlinear behavior. Standard quantum techniques show divergent outcomes when a quantum system comprising more than one subunit is far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Abnormal photon inter-arrival times help fulfill the metabolic needs of a terrestrial photosynthetic bacterium. Spatial correlations within incident light can act as a driving mechanism for an organism’s adaptation toward more ordered structures. The group dynamics of non-identical objects, whose assembly rules depend on mutual heterogeneity, yield rich transition dynamics between isolation and cohesion, with the cohesion regime reproducing a particular universal pattern commonly found in many real-world systems. Analyses of covert networks reveal collective gender superiority in the connectivity that provides benefits for system robustness and survival. Nodal migration in a network generates complex contagion profiles that lie beyond traditional approaches and yet resemble many modern-day outbreaks.

Keywords

Complexity; Photosynthesis; Non equilibrium systems; Stochastic methods; Agent-based models; Network analysis; Spatial coherence

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