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Processes
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Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation
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Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 5924

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Takahiko Ban

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Chemical Engineering, Department of Materials Engineering Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Machikaneyamacho 1-3, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
Interests: active matter; non-equilibrium thermodynamics; transport phenomena
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Atanu Chatterjee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
Interests: collective behavior; non-equilibrium thermodynamics; pattern formation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nature's inherent ability to form structure is intimately linked with irreversible processes that transport energy, mass, and momentum. These systems are thermodynamically open and are out of equilibrium. Thus, they can interact and exchange matter and energy with their surroundings.

Out-of-equilibrium systems constantly consume energy and dissipate and stabilize themselves in meta-stable states of dynamic equilibrium. These non-equilibrium states give rise to complex structures that adapt and self-organize, responding to external perturbations embodied as thermodynamic forces, flows, and currents.

Examples of such systems are ubiquitous. They can range from phase transitions in magnetic systems, critical phenomena in dynamical systems, and fluid-phase instabilities in thermo-fluid systems, giving rise to a myriad of spatiotemporal patterns to self-assembly in molecular systems. Additionally, oscillatory reactions in chemical systems and collective behavior in biological, active matter, and social systems are other instances where self-organization and pattern formation are evident.

This Special Issue allows academics and researchers to share their insights and advancements in this fascinating cross-section of physics, chemistry, biology, and material science. Your contribution will be part of a scholarly dialogue to further our understanding of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the mechanisms behind structure formation in nature.

Dr. Takahiko Ban
Dr. Atanu Chatterjee
Guest Editors

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. Processes 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 2400 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.

Keywords

  • entropy production
  • active matter
  • self-organization
  • pattern formation
  • phase separation
  • information entropy

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

72 pages, 7015 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Predicting Self-Organization in Dynamic Systems out of Thermodynamic Equilibrium: Part 1: Attractor, Mechanism and Power Law Scaling
by Matthew Brouillet and Georgi Yordanov Georgiev
Processes 2024, 12(12), 2937; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12122937 - 23 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1605
Abstract
Self-organization in complex systems is a process associated with reduced internal entropy and the emergence of structures that may enable the system to function more effectively and robustly in its environment and in a more competitive way with other states of the system [...] Read more.
Self-organization in complex systems is a process associated with reduced internal entropy and the emergence of structures that may enable the system to function more effectively and robustly in its environment and in a more competitive way with other states of the system or with other systems. This phenomenon typically occurs in the presence of energy gradients, facilitating energy transfer and entropy production. As a dynamic process, self-organization is best studied using dynamic measures and principles. The principles of minimizing unit action, entropy, and information while maximizing their total values are proposed as some of the dynamic variational principles guiding self-organization. The least action principle (LAP) is the proposed driver for self-organization; however, it cannot operate in isolation; it requires the mechanism of feedback loops with the rest of the system’s characteristics to drive the process. Average action efficiency (AAE) is introduced as a potential quantitative measure of self-organization, reflecting the system’s efficiency as the ratio of events to total action per unit of time. Positive feedback loops link AAE to other system characteristics, potentially explaining power–law relationships, quantity–AAE transitions, and exponential growth patterns observed in complex systems. To explore this framework, we apply it to agent-based simulations of ants navigating between two locations on a 2D grid. The principles align with observed self-organization dynamics, and the results and comparisons with real-world data appear to support the model. By analyzing AAE, this study seeks to address fundamental questions about the nature of self-organization and system organization, such as “Why and how do complex systems self-organize? What is organization and how organized is a system?”. We present AAE for the discussed simulation and whenever no external forces act on the system. Given so many specific cases in nature, the method will need to be adapted to reflect their specific interactions. These findings suggest that the proposed models offer a useful perspective for understanding and potentially improving the design of complex systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation)
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Graphical abstract

17 pages, 324 KiB  
Article
A Thermo-Economic Measure of Sustainability
by Umberto Lucia and Giulia Grisolia
Processes 2024, 12(4), 713; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12040713 - 31 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1107
Abstract
Recently, an improvement of the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), named the Thermodynamic Human Development Index (THDI), has been introduced to link socio-economics to environmental and technical pillars of sustainable development. In this [...] Read more.
Recently, an improvement of the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), named the Thermodynamic Human Development Index (THDI), has been introduced to link socio-economics to environmental and technical pillars of sustainable development. In this paper, the THDI is linked to the Kaya identity to bring out the quantities useful in energy economics and to obtain a clearer tool for the evaluation of sustainability. Moreover, the THDI has been normalized for use as an index for the analysis of sustainability. The component related to environmental emissions, which is included in the THDI, can be linked to the Kaya identity. This linkage allows us to use the THDI for the analysis of scenarios, which is useful for evaluating the possible impacts of any future actions on the development of countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation)
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10 pages, 5165 KiB  
Article
Marangoni Convection Velocity in Nonlinear Hanging-Droplet Vibration Phenomena
by Koutaro Onoda and Ben Nanzai
Processes 2024, 12(3), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12030609 - 19 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1273
Abstract
The Marangoni effect involves a mass transfer along an interface between two phases owing to the gradient of the interfacial tension. The flow caused by this phenomenon is called Marangoni convection, a complex phenomenon that involves mass transfer processes, such as surfactant adsorption/desorption [...] Read more.
The Marangoni effect involves a mass transfer along an interface between two phases owing to the gradient of the interfacial tension. The flow caused by this phenomenon is called Marangoni convection, a complex phenomenon that involves mass transfer processes, such as surfactant adsorption/desorption processes, solvent dissolution phenomena, and viscous dissipation processes. Therefore, the strength of the convection depends on the various thermodynamic and physical properties of the fluids. In this study, we experimentally investigated the relationship between the Marangoni convection generated inside a hanging oil droplet and the interfacial tension of the oil droplet in an aqueous phase by the particle image velocimetry method. This convection velocity depended on the initial value of the interfacial tension in the oil–water interfacial tension oscillation phenomenon accompanied by the expansion and contraction of the hanging drop. Additionally, the droplet oscillation frequency decreased as the Marangoni convection velocity increased. Furthermore, continuous convection, which is unlike Marangoni convection, was observed within this spontaneously expanding and contracting hanging-droplet system. This buoyant convection was caused by the mutual dissolution of the hanging-droplet oil phase and the surrounding aqueous phase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation)
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14 pages, 4070 KiB  
Article
The Reversible Transformation of a Vesicular Aggregate in Response to a pH Oscillation
by Moeka Shimada, Risa Someya, Yasunao Okamoto, Daigo Yamamoto and Akihisa Shioi
Processes 2024, 12(3), 514; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12030514 - 2 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1214
Abstract
The transformation of amphiphilic molecular assemblies in response to chemical oscillations is fundamental in biological systems. The reversible transformation of a vesicular aggregate (VA) in response to a pH oscillation is presented in this study. A VA composed of the cationic surfactant didodecyldimethylammonium [...] Read more.
The transformation of amphiphilic molecular assemblies in response to chemical oscillations is fundamental in biological systems. The reversible transformation of a vesicular aggregate (VA) in response to a pH oscillation is presented in this study. A VA composed of the cationic surfactant didodecyldimethylammonium bromide is transformed using a pH oscillation ranging between 3 and 7. When the VA attains a stable structure at extreme pH values, the transformation reaches the irreversible stage. However, the addition of a phosphate buffer to the VA suspension changes the pH oscillation pattern from being rectangular to triangular and decreases the oscillation amplitude, successfully achieving the reversible transformation of the VA. Maintaining the non-equilibrium (transient) structures throughout the transformation and not falling into the equilibrium state with a varying pH are essential for the reversible transformation. This may be common and essential for dynamics in biological cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-equilibrium Processes and Structure Formation)
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