Department of Physics of Complex Systems

Nir Davidson, Head

The Department of Physics of Complex Systems has research programs in fundamental and applied physics. Research in optics and atomic physics includes nonlinear optics, ultra fast optics and high harmonic generation, quantum optics, slow light, descrete optics, nano optics and nonlinear microscopy, laser cooling and trapping of atoms and ions, studied of Bose Einstein condensation, precision spectroscopy and quantum information processing. Theoretical and experimental research in condensed matter is concentrated on equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics, clustering of data, bioinformatics and systems biology, electrokinetics of ions and charged particles in low dielectric liquids, colloids, soft materials and complex fluids. Experimental and theoretical hydrodynamics concentrates on turbulence, spatio-temporal chaos, turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection, liquids at interfaces, droplet impact, sedimentation and dynamics of single micro-objects, such as polymers, vesicles, capsules and hydrodynamics of their solutions. Turbulence theory is developed in general and in applications to cloud physics. Classical and quantum chaos, statistics of nodal lines in quantum systems and turbulence are studied theoretically. Mathematical and computational methods for archaeological research are developed. Theoretical physical biology deals with modeling living information systems, their molecular components and the way they evolve. Experimental bio-physics deals with bio-molecules, neural cultures, neurophysics, physics of the brain, physics of bio-systems and decision making in ant colonies.

N. Davidson

Long cohernece times in optically trapped atoms

Bose Einstein Condensation in Ultra cold atomic gas.

Phase locking and synchronization of coupled lasers
N. Davidson, Asher Friesem

Electromagnetic-induced transparency and slow light
N. Davidson, Moshe shuker, Ofer Firstenberg, Amiram Ron

E. Domany

Development of tools and algorithms for large scale data analysis. Bioinformatics.

Computational Physics: equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of spin glasses
E. Domany, A. P. Young (UCSC)

Analysis of high-throughput biological data (in particular, gene expression data)
E. Domany, Several research groups at Weizmann, in the USA and in Europe; see below.

1.  Controlled experiments on cell lines and mice (with D. Givol, V. Rotter, Y. Groner, L. Sachs; D. Gazit (Hadassa))

2.  Development of antigen chips, applications for autoimmune diseases (with I. Cohen)

3.  Studies human cancer samples; leukemia (with E. Canaani; G. Rechavi S. Izraeli (Sheba))

4.  Colorectal cancer; (with D. Notterman (UMDNJ), F. Barany (Cornell), P. Paty (MSK), A. Levine (Princeton))

5.  Prostate cancer; (with Z. Eshhar, A. Orr (TA Sourasky));

6.  Glioblastoma; (with M. Hegi, R. Stupp (CHUV))

7.  Breast and cervical cancer (with J-P Thiery, F. Radvanyi, X. Sastre, C. Rosty (Inst Curie))

N. Dudovich

Strong field light matter interactions

Attosecond Physics

G. Falkovich

Turbulence theory
G. Falkovich, Vladimir Lebedev, Krzysztof Gawedzki, Michael Shats

Optical turbulence
G. Falkovich, Sergei Turitsyn, Natalia Vladimirova

Statistical physics
G. Falkovich, Krzysztof Gawedzki, Natalia Vladimirova

O. Feinerman

Collective behavior of ants.

Information sharing in cooperative groups.

Collective decision making.

A. Friesem

Diffractive Optical Elements and Planar Optics.

Photonic Devices.

Novel Laser Configurations.

U. Leonhardt

Geometry and light

Invisibility cloaking and perfect imaging

Analogues of the event horizon

Forces of the quantum vacuum

E. Moses

Physics of the Brain

Computation in Living Neuronal Networks

Neuronal Chips.

EEG and Brain Activity.

D. Mukamel

RNA and DNA denaturation.

Collective phenomena in systems far from thermal equilibrium.

Coarsening processes and slow dynamics.

Systems with long range interactions

D. Oron

ultrafast dynamics of semiconductor quantum dots

sub-diffraction limited imaging

Optical nonlinearity in plasmonic nanostructures

Quantum dot enabled photovoltaics

R. Ozeri

Ultra-cold ions and atoms

Quantum Computing

Quantum metrology and precision measurements

Ultra-cold collisions and interactions

A. Schwimmer

String theory.

Conformal field theory.

Dynamics of gauge theory.

Y. Silberberg

Nonlinear Optics and Quantum Optics.

Ultrafast optics and quantum coherent control.

Nonlinear microscopy.

U. Smilansky

Mathematical methods for Archaeological research.

Semi-classical quantization.

Chaotic scattering.

Quantum chaos.

J. Stavans

Genetic Networks and Systems Biology

1.  Regulation of gene expression by small RNAs

2.  Developmental decision making

3.  Noise and adaptation

Single-Molecule Biological Physics.

1.  RNA interference

2.  Homologous recombination

Statistical Mechanics

V. Steinberg

Physical hydrodynamics, hydrodynamics of complex fluids, dynamics of single flexible micro-objects (molecules, membranes, etc) in complex fluid flows

1.  Hydrodynamics of polymer solutions, Elastic turbulence and Turbulent mixing by polymers.

2.  Hydrodynamics and rheology of complex fluids (vesicle, capsule, worm-like micelle, etc suspensions)

3.  Dynamics and conformation of single polymer molecule, vesicle, micro-capsule, etc in complex fluid flows.

4.  Measurement of velocity and vorticity fields by sound scattering in a turbulent flow.

5.  Convective turbulence in a fluid near the gas-liquid critical point.

6.  Microfluidics: mixing, cell separation, random flows.

7.  Development of non-invasive local sensors for measurements of stress field in fluid flow