Introduction to Focus Issue: Instabilities and nonequilibrium structures

Abstract

This Focus Issue on instabilities and nonequilibrium structures includes invited contributions from leading researchers across many different fields. The issue was inspired in part by the “VII Instabilities and Nonequilibrium Structures 2019” conference that took place at the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, Chile in December 2019. The conference, which is devoted to nonlinear science, is one of the oldest conferences in South America (since December 1985). This session has an exceptional character since it coincides with the 80th anniversary of Professor Enrique Tirapegui. We take this opportunity to highlight Tirapegui’s groundbreaking contributions in the field of random perturbations experienced by macroscopic systems and in the formation of spatiotemporal structures in such systems operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium. This issue addresses a cross-disciplinary area of research as can be witnessed by the diversity of systems considered from inert matter such as photonics, chemistry, and fluid dynamics, to biology.

Oscillatory motion of dissipative solitons induced by delay-feedback in inhomogeneous Kerr resonators

“…In particular, the stability domain of a single peak dissipative solitons is much larger than the pinning region where the system exhibits multistability between multiple peaks of dissipative solitons [17] . Dissipative soliton and localized pattern formation are an important issue not only in the context of nonlinear optics and laser physics but constitute a multidisciplinary area of research in many far from equilibrium extended systems involving physics, chemistry, biology, plant ecology, and mathematics (see overviews on this issue [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] ).…”

Localised labyrinthine patterns in ecosystems

“…The appearance of order and structures that involve nonequilibrium exchanges of energy and/or matter have been widely observed in many natural systems including fluid mechanics, optics, biology, ecology, and medicine 1 – 6 . Vegetation populations and vegetation patterns belong to this field of research.…”