Speaker

István Kovács, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University

Title

"Cluster tomography in classical and quantum systems"

Abstract

As we address systems of increasing complexity, it becomes ever more challenging to identify the relevant order parameters to characterize different phases and the corresponding transitions. At the same time, pattern formation in complex systems often leads to distinct clusters or regions. The emerging cluster structures span from magnetic domains in classical and quantum systems through flocks and brain regions to motility-induced phase separation in active matter. In the talk, I will discuss the concept of cluster tomography, a simple and efficient geometric approach to detect phase transitions and characterize the universality class in any classical or quantum system with a relevant cluster structure, both in- and out-of-equilibrium. Through the lens of cluster tomography, I will present some of our recent and ongoing research on neuroscience, active systems, infection spreading, and quantum entanglement.

Bio

István Kovács is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University. Previously he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University, a visiting researcher in the Center for Cancer Systems Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and at University of Toronto, as well as at the Department of Network and Data Science of the Central European University. He received a PhD in Physics from the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, working at the Wigner Research Centre for Physics, during which he spent time at Semmelweis University and University of Saarbrücken, Germany. His group develops novel methodologies to predict the emerging structural and functional patterns in problems ranging from systems biology to quantum physics, in close collaboration with experimental groups.

https://sites.northwestern.edu/kovacslab