Non-equilibrium phenomena encompass many physical and chemical processes relevant in both the living and non-living world. However, these cannot be analyzed by the established framework of equilibrium statistical mechanics. One is thus, forced to look towards a unifying framework for non-equilibrium processes that can be useful in better understanding these systems. The group places emphasis on building simplified but exact models addressing such questions. A specific question is how the velocity distributions behave in the driven granular matter- an intrinsically non-equilibrium system. The group also tries to understand how non-equilibrium strategies can be useful in faster completion of stochastic processes of broader interest.
Members: Dr. Sasidevan V, Dr. Ronald Benjamin, Dr. Prasad V V