Research Activities

The BO61 project applies and develops the results of the dynamical systems theory to study nonlinear models relevant for theoretical and applied Physics.
The reserach activity concerns the following topics:

1. Dynamical evolution of many particles systems with a longe range interaction in presence of external fields;
2. Dynamical properties of nonlinear systems in presence of symmetries;
3. Diffusion andtrasport phenomena in stochastic nonlinear dynamical systems.

The considered models are relevant for high intensity beam Physics, celestial mechanics, solid state physics, chemical systems and biology.
 
The Bologna section has a long expertise in applying dynamical system theory to physical problems. The actual research activity considers the effects of Coulomb collisions in the dynamics of an ensamble of magnetically confined particle. Using the Landau integrals to simulate the collisions as a stochastic perturbation, it has been studied a splilling mechanism that can contribute to the halo formation around a KV distribution. The limit of the Poisson Vlasov description and the relaxation towards a self-consistent Maxwell-Boltzmann are studied by using direct simulations of the Coulomb interactions in a 2D case. A scaling law for the relaxation time with the number of macroparticles has been proposed. The statistical properties of agent based models (gas of automata) that simulates the pedestrian mobility are considered taking into account the interaction among the agents and with the urban space. Dynamical models for biopolymers are developed to study some aspects of the protein folding process.