Collective Dynamics and Emergent Phenomena in Complex Nonequilibrium Systems

Complex systems driven out of equilibrium exhibit a remarkable variety of phenomena arising from fluctuations, nonlinear interactions, and collective organization spanning a broad range of scales, systems and dynamical processes. Understanding how microscopic processes and local interactions give rise to coherent macroscopic behavior remains a fundamental challenge in modern physics. Such systems can display criticality, pattern formation, intermittency, and collective transitions, often far from equilibrium and in the presence of disorder and/or external driving. Disordered systems provide powerful frameworks for investigating how stochastic heterogeneity reshapes large-scale dynamics, leading to avalanches, critical behavior, and emergent collective phenomena. These phenomena are encountered across statistical and condensed matter physics, materials science, biological and neural systems, complex networks, climate dynamics, and social systems.The goal of this Research Topic is to foster a vibrant, interdisciplinary collection that deepens physical insight into the mechanisms underlying collective behavior in complex systems driven out of equilibrium. We seek to bring together researchers working at the intersection of statistical and condensed matter physics, nonlinear dynamics, computer science, probability theory, and materials science to address key challenges in this field.Specific objectives include:• identifying common trends and transferable concepts across disciplines that advance our understanding of intermittency, criticality, universality, and extreme events• developing new theoretical, analytical, and probabilistic frameworks, alongside computational and experimental methodologies (including hybrid approaches), to study nonequilibrium dynamics• characterising how interactions, disorder, fluctuations, and external driving shape emergent collective behavior• connecting theoretical models and simulations with experimentally observable phenomena in disordered and driven systemsBy achieving these goals, this collection aims to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue, highlight common principles across statistical and condensed matter physics, nonlinear dynamics, computer science, probability theory, and materials science, and identify open challenges in the physics of complex nonequilibrium systems.This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing the physics of complex systems driven out of equilibrium and their manifestation across disciplines. Themes of interest include but are not limited to:• Criticality, scaling, and universality in nonequilibrium complex systems• Disorder, heterogeneity, and external driving in nonequilibrium systems• Fluctuations, intermittency, and large-deviation analysis• Avalanche dynamics and self-organized criticality• Pattern formation, symmetry breaking, and dynamical instabilities• Rare-event statistics, and precursors of catastrophic events• Dynamics of driven disordered magnetic systems and multilayers• Hysteresis and noise in ferromagnetic/ferroelectric thin films and nanostructures• Plasticity and dislocation dynamics, fluctuations and size effects in fracture• Interdisciplinary applications to materials, biological and neural systems, complex networks, climate, and social dynamics• Development of experimental and computational methods for characterizing complex nonequilibrium phenomenaWe invite Original Research, Review, Methods, and Mini Review articles. All contributions must advance the physical understanding of collective behavior in complex nonequilibrium systems and demonstrate clear relevance to the interdisciplinary aims of this Research Topic. Topic editors: Sanja Janicevic, Djordje Spasojevic, Soumyajyoti Biswas Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85679/collective-dynamics-and-emergent-phenomena-in-complex-nonequilibrium-systems