Books and special volumes

S. C. Müller and J. Parisi (Eds.)
Bottom-Up Self-Organization in Supramolecular Soft Matter - Principles and Prototypical
Examples of Recent Advances
(Springer Series in Materials Science 217, Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2015)
ISBN: 978-3-319-19409-7

Abstract:
This book presents the general concepts of self-organized spatio-temporal ordering processes. These concepts are demonstrated via prototypical examples of recent advances in materials science. Particular emphasis is on nanoscale soft matter in physics, chemistry, biology and biochemical phenomena, ranging from self-assembly near the thermodynamical equilibrium to dissipative structure formation far from equilibrium. Their mutual interplay gives rise to increasing degrees of hierarchical order. Analogues are pointed out, differences characterized and efforts are made to reveal common features in the mechanistic description of those phenomena.

S. C. Müller, P. J. Plath, G. Radons and A. Fuchs (Eds.)
Complexity and Synergetics
(Springer Series of Complexity, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2018)
ISBN: 978-3-319-64333-5

Abstract:
All of us are confronted with complex phenomena occurring in daily life and in the living and inanimate nature surrounding us. Our scientific curiosity strives to unravel the mechanisms at work to create such complexity. Among various approaches to solve this problem, the field of synergetics, developed by Hermann Haken, has proven very successful as a general and interdisciplinary concept for describing and explaining complex phenomena that appear in systems under non-equilibrium conditions. These comprise dynamical states in evolving systems, spatial structure-forming processes, synchronization of states and regulatory mechanisms, and many other examples. The encompassing concepts have been applied to many disciplines, like physics, chemistry, biology, and beyond those also from synergetics to information theory, brain science, economics and others.
Starting from basic methods of complexity research and synergetics, this volume contains thirty contributions on complex systems that exhibit spontaneous pattern formation far from thermal equilibrium. Written by international experts and young researchers assembled under one roof, this volume reflects state of the art research from a variety of scientific fields and disciplines, where complexity theory and synergetics are important or even indispensable tools today and in the future.

K. Tsuji and S. C. Müller (Eds.)
Spirals and Vortices – In Culture, Nature, and Science
(The Frontiers Collection, Springer Nature, Cham, 2019)
ISBN 978-3-030-05797-8

Abstract:
This richly illustrated book explores the fascinating and ubiquitous occurrence of spirals and vortices in human culture and in nature. Spiral forms have been used as elements in the arts for thousands of years, whereas their role in nature and science – from DNA and sea shells to galaxies – is still a topic of investigation in numerous fields. Following an introduction to the cultural history of spiral forms, the book presents contributions from leading experts, who describe the origins, mechanisms and dynamics of spirals and vortices in their special fields. As a whole the book provides a valuable source of information, while also taking the reader on an aesthetic and scientific journey through the world of spiral forms.

K. Tsuji and S. C. Müller
Physics and Music – Essential Connections and Illuminating Excursions
(Springer Nature, Cham, 2021)
ISBN: 978-3-030-68675-8

Abstract:
This book explores the fascinating and intimate relationship between music and physics. Over millennia,the playing of, and listening to music have stimulated creativity and curiosity in people all around the globe. Beginning with the basics, the authors first address the tonal systems of European-type music, comparing them with those of other, distant cultures. They analyze the physical principles of common musical instruments with emphasis on sound creation and particularly charisma. Modern research on the psychology of musical perception – the field known as psychoacoustics – is also described. The sound of orchestras in concert halls is discussed,and its psychoacoustic effects are explained. Finally, the authors touch upon the role of music for our mind and society. Throughout the book, interesting stories and anecdotes give insights into the musical activities of physicists and their interaction with composers and musicians.

K. Tsuji and S.C. Müller
Physics and Mathematics in Musical Composition
(Springer Nature, Cham, 2025)
ISBN 978-3-031-80731-2

Abstract:
How is music born? Is music made by humans or does it already exist and wait to be found? How do composers create (or find) music? Having these questions in mind the authors ask more questions: How can we share our feelings with other people when listening to music? Can these be visualized? Why did Helmholtz have a problem with the third? Why is precise tuning so important in European music and less so in other cultures? What are the differences among the continents? What makes dissonant tone intervals uncomfortable in many cases? What enables us to distinguish the music of Mozart from that of Beethoven? Why are we fascinated by birdsong? Why does some music survive, whereas other just disappears? And finally, along which lines will music develop in the future? Drawing upon physics and mathematics, the authors search for answers to these questions and attempt to unravel in some depth the enigmas of how our minds are affected by the perception of music.

S. C. Müller and J. Parisi
Understanding Marvelous Patterns in Complex Systems
in press

Abstract:
This vivid and colorful book explores the fascinating and ubiquitous occurrence of spatial patterns and forms, generated in nature by the interplay of chemical and biological reactions with transport processes, as there are diffusion, convection, chemotaxis or others. Their role in our perception and in scientific investigations is immanent in the concepts of natural laws. They have the capacity to explain phenomena like self-organization in systems far away from thermodynamic equilibrium or to formulate the influence of nonlinear interactions on complexity. Just take the omnipresent waves, as they propagate in liquids with or without reactivity, act inside biological cells or become apparent in a biomedical context, as in the heart during arrhythmias or in the visual cortex, when a migraine aura is noticed. Such phenomena are prominent topics of intensive, future-oriented and hopefully beneficial research.
Our colleagues and friends contribute to this volume in presentations on the origins, mechanisms and dynamics relevant for their special research endeavors, from earlier to actual, more complex topics. These comprise numerous scientific fields in theory, mathematics, physics and chemistry laboratories, field studies on morphogenesis and the course of biological evolution, or analysis of specific medical data, including epidemiological studies.
On the whole the book provides a valuable source of information, while also taking the reader on an aestethic journey through an attractive world full of color and “visual adventures”.