On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems.
The study of models is ubiquitous in sciences like physics, chemistry,ecology, biology or sociology. Models are used to explain experimental facts or tomake new predictions. For any system, one can distinguish several levels of description.In the simplest mean-field like description the dynamics is...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2016.00038/full |
| _version_ | 1818874583437017088 |
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| author | Michel Droz Andrzej Pekalski |
| author_facet | Michel Droz Andrzej Pekalski |
| author_sort | Michel Droz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study of models is ubiquitous in sciences like physics, chemistry,ecology, biology or sociology. Models are used to explain experimental facts or tomake new predictions. For any system, one can distinguish several levels of description.In the simplest mean-field like description the dynamics is described in terms of spatially averaged quantities while in a microscopic approach local properties are taken into account and local fluctuations for the relevant variables are present. The properties predicted by these two different approaches may be drastically different.In a large body of research literature concerning complex systemsthis problem is often overlooked and simple mean-field like approximation are used without asking the question of the robustness of the corresponding predictions. The goal of this paper is twofold, first to illustrate the importance of the fluctuations in a self-contained and pedagogical way, by revisiting two different classes of problems where thorough investigations have been conducted (equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics).Second, we present our original research on the dynamics of population of annual plantswhich are competing among themselves for just one resource (water) through a stochastic dynamics. Depending on the observable considered, the mean-field like and microscopic approaches agree or totally disagree. There is not a general criterion allowing to decide a priori when the two approaches will agree. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T13:12:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab13aa47ecf64d66823ce68c65681913 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-424X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T13:12:54Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab13aa47ecf64d66823ce68c656819132022-12-21T20:19:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2016-09-01410.3389/fphy.2016.00038203910On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems.Michel Droz0Andrzej Pekalski1University of Geneva. Département de Physique ThéoriqueUniversity of WroclawThe study of models is ubiquitous in sciences like physics, chemistry,ecology, biology or sociology. Models are used to explain experimental facts or tomake new predictions. For any system, one can distinguish several levels of description.In the simplest mean-field like description the dynamics is described in terms of spatially averaged quantities while in a microscopic approach local properties are taken into account and local fluctuations for the relevant variables are present. The properties predicted by these two different approaches may be drastically different.In a large body of research literature concerning complex systemsthis problem is often overlooked and simple mean-field like approximation are used without asking the question of the robustness of the corresponding predictions. The goal of this paper is twofold, first to illustrate the importance of the fluctuations in a self-contained and pedagogical way, by revisiting two different classes of problems where thorough investigations have been conducted (equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics).Second, we present our original research on the dynamics of population of annual plantswhich are competing among themselves for just one resource (water) through a stochastic dynamics. Depending on the observable considered, the mean-field like and microscopic approaches agree or totally disagree. There is not a general criterion allowing to decide a priori when the two approaches will agree.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2016.00038/fullmodellingBiodiversitymean-field approximationdifferent levels of descriptionindividually based model (IBM)annual plant dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Michel Droz Andrzej Pekalski On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. Frontiers in Physics modelling Biodiversity mean-field approximation different levels of description individually based model (IBM) annual plant dynamics |
| title | On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. |
| title_full | On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. |
| title_fullStr | On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. |
| title_short | On the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems. |
| title_sort | on the role of fluctuations in the modeling of complex systems |
| topic | modelling Biodiversity mean-field approximation different levels of description individually based model (IBM) annual plant dynamics |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fphy.2016.00038/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT micheldroz ontheroleoffluctuationsinthemodelingofcomplexsystems AT andrzejpekalski ontheroleoffluctuationsinthemodelingofcomplexsystems |