DEPARTMENT COLLOQUIUM | Structure in Non-Equilibrium Systems

Systems driven from equilibrium tend to self-organize into coherent dynamical states. Moreover, vastly different systems exhibit the same set of states, a form of universality analogous to that of equilibrium systems near second phase transitions. The case of spatial extended periodic states is now understood in terms of amplitude equations and bifurcation theory. However, there are many non-equilibrium phenomena that lie outside of this theory. I will present results for two such systems: jets from drop impact and localized waves in complex fluids.