Delay-Driven Instabilities and Pattern Formation in Complex Physical Systems

Time delays are a fundamental feature of complex physical systems, yet their role in driving instabilities and self-organised pattern formation remains poorly understood. When a system’s response lags behind its inputs — through signal propagation, transport, or feedback regulation — the resulting dynamics can differ dramatically from delay-free predictions. This Research Topic aims to consolidate current understanding of how time delays shape the behaviour of complex physical systems, from oscillations and spatial patterns to tipping points and regime shifts. We welcome contributions from statistical physics, nonlinear dynamics, condensed matter, fluid dynamics, and biophysics, seeking common mechanisms and transferable insights that connect delay-driven phenomena across physical domains — including physically-grounded studies of biological, ecological, and environmental systems as illustrative case studies. Time delays arise naturally wherever there is a lag between cause and effect — signal propagation, transport lags, and feedback regulation in physical media. These delays are often the primary mechanism behind emergent behaviours such as sustained oscillations, spatial pattern formation, and sudden transitions between system states. While the phenomenology of delay-induced dynamics is well documented in individual physical subfields, a cross-cutting perspective connecting theory, simulation, and experiment is still needed. This collection welcomes contributions addressing delay-driven dynamics in physical systems, including biophysical, ecological, and environmental systems studied through a physics lens. Specific themes include: -Delay-induced oscillations and rhythmic behaviour in physical and biophysical networks -Spatial pattern formation in reaction-diffusion and transport systems with time delays -Synchronisation and self-organisation in coupled physical systems with propagation delays -Delay-driven tipping points and regime shifts in physical, environmental, and biophysical systems -Control and suppression of delay-induced instabilities in natural and engineered physical systems -Statistical and computational approaches to delay-induced instability and bifurcation -Experimental signatures of delay-driven pattern formation in condensed matter, optics, or fluid systems Contributions combining modelling or experiment with clear physical interpretation are particularly encouraged. Topic editors: Changjin Xu, Chaouki AOUITI Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83456/delay-driven-instabilities-and-pattern-formation-in-complex-physical-systems