Thermodynamics and Population Dynamics
A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 2731
Special Issue Editor
Interests: population balances; statistical thermodynamics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Populations undergoing change and evolution appear throughout the physical and social sciences. A generic population is a collection of individuals (members) that join to form clusters. The state of the population is described by the distribution of clusters, and this may evolve dynamically in time. The members of a population may be physical particles, molecules, cells or galaxies; its distribution may refer to physical size, mass, chemical species, or any other attribute that is distributed among the members of the population. The distribution of a population evolves when members are added and removed from the population, or when clusters exchange members. This generic picture describes a large number of diverse phenomena, from polymerization and colloidal aggregation, to the spread of epidemics and the evolution of galaxies.
This Special Issue focuses on the application of thermodynamics to population dynamics. The central property of the population is its distribution and its state under given external constraints. We invite contributions that explore associations between equilibrium thermodynamics and the distribution of dynamic populations. Of particular interest are stochastic processes that exhibit the features of phase transitions. Examples are percolation, the emergence of a giant component in networks, gelation in polymerization and colloidal aggregation, the spread of fires and epidemics. We are seeking papers that employ the tools of statistical thermodynamics to study and understand the behavior of such complex dynamical systems.
Prof. Themis Matsoukas
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
